Inmates to Outlaws
by booknerd95
Summary: The story behind the Seablite Gang. From the time they entered Seablite to the time the Specter sailed for the first time. This is their story of how they went from inmates to outlaws.
1. Chapter 1: Seablite

**Yes, I'm back with another Dark Life story... I can't help it... it's a great book and this story had to be told... There shouldn't be too much stuff like swear words and gory details... pretty much like the book itself, like my other story for this category... Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Inmates to Outlaws<p>

Chapter One

Seablite

Richard is not having a good day. Actually this whole week has gone terribly. First Ms. Spinner accuses him of stealing space which is apparently the worst crime he could ever commit. Then she had him arrested for it. All he wanted to do is show his little sister Gemma a good time. Really. All he did was pick the lock to one of the quality time rooms so they could have a little quality time of their own. Of course that was a big no-no since he had no money to pay for the room and no parents to pay for the room either. Today is the day he realized that he should never trust the Commonwealth. They don't care for anyone but themselves.

Once he was in the police station, they had his finger prints documented, his eyes scanned for retina identification, a sample of blood taken for DNA testing, his picture taken next to a wall marker, marking his height. He remembers that the officers asked him a lot of questions. Parents, family, birthday which happened to be the day he was arrested. He had just turned fourteen.

After all that was finished, he was sent away to a reformatory or a jail, whatever pronunciation you prefer. It would probably be stacked full to the roof as were all buildings since the Rising. There was never enough space in the world anymore which is probably why he's in a submarine right now, diving deeper into the ocean as they speak.

The guards never told him and the other young boys, who were criminals, where the reformatory was. They had simply given them all an orange prison jumper with a number on the front. Richard thought that the orange colour was too bright.

Right now Richard is sitting on one of the seats in the sub with his hands in chains, resting on his knees. One of the guards walks past him; giving him an evil glare like Richard had killed his mother or something. Richard is no murderer. He just stole space which is practically killing someone, apparently.

He sighs and slouches forward, hands resting on his knees still. He looks at all the other boys who are travelling with him. He's one of the oldest. All the other boys are a few years younger than him. The youngest is probably ten. The oldest is probably fifteen or close to it. In total there are ten boys sitting quite still with their wrists encased in sliver manacles. This day just keeps getting better and better.

Whenever one of the boys talks, a guard arrives to shush them up. Sometimes they just give them a look or they give them a smack upside the head. Richard knows better and keeps quiet.

The dive isn't that long and soon they arrive to the reformatory which happens to be underwater. Richard has never heard of such a thing. Reformatories are always above water. Always. Something doesn't even feel right and he hasn't even set foot in the prison… reformatory, whatever.

"Listen up, you little brats!" one of the guards yelled. "I'm not going to take any of your crap from now on. I own every single one of you and you will obey my orders here in my prison. If you break any of my rules, I'll tell you what I'll do to you. We have a thing called the 'hole.' And in the hole there is absolutely nothing in their except a rubber mat for a bed. If you go against my rules, you stay in the 'hole' for a week. Continue bad behaviour and you get two weeks. You don't get let out, no one talks to you. Do I make myself clear?"

The boys around Richard shift nervously. They say nothing and the Warden of the prison smiles. "Good," he says. "You're already on your way to a better and brighter future already. Stand up!" All the boys obey and they stand. "Welcome to Seablite!" The side doors on the sub slide open. Richard is led into the new prison first. It has a clean smell of freshly paved cement and bathroom cleaners. And maybe a hint of new car smell but he isn't exactly sure.

The ten boys are led out of the sub single file. The prison is two stories, built into a square. They are in the side of the prison that has a pool of water for the subs to reside in. Dive suits are handing from the walls in this room along with green liquid packages. All of the gear looks so alien to Richard. He knows that people actually live on the ocean floor but still it's a weird concept to him, even this whole underwater prison is strange.

The cells where the boys will be staying are on the second floor of the prison. He counts at least twenty cells to be up there. A small prison yes but it is better than a stacked prison Topside.

On the first floor of the prison are tables where the inmates are allowed to eat when they are out of their cells. Two plain gray doors are directly are set at the far end of the first floor. He assumes that's what the Warden meant by the 'hole.' Other doors surround the main floor. Most of them you can't see into them but so far nothing looks too suspicious. This prison might not be so bad after all. Richard got lucky with scoring a place like this.

The guard leading Richard shows him to a cell. He steps in and waits. Another boy steps in as well and the barred door slides shut. "Step forward," the guard commands. Both boys in the cell do and hold out their wrists through the cell door. The guard takes out a set of keys and unlocks their shackles. He soon leaves.

Richard turns around and looks at the cell he's in. Two bunk beds are on either side of the wall. A small bathroom is set to the side of the room with just a toilet and a mirror hanging on the wall above a small sink. Upon further inspection, he finds two, large, plastic containers underneath each bunk, probably to store stuff in.

As if on cue, some of Richard's belongings are slipped into the cell along with sets of clothes. Both the boys in the cell were given two extra sets of clothes to wear underneath the prison jumper which consists of a white t-shirt and a pair of thin, white shorts. White and orange. Richard feels like a creamsicle.

He runs his hand through his hair and set his clothes down in the plastic container he claims as his. His personal belongings consist of a much worn book that once belonged to his father and a picture of Gemma. He smiles as he thinks of her. Then he loses his smile. She's all alone now. He's no longer there to guide her and protect her. She's all alone.

He sits down on the bottom bunk as does his younger cell mate. The boy across from him is probably two years younger than him. His shaggy blond hair rests just above his icy blue eyes. The kid tucks his hands under his arms and looks down at the floor. They're silent for a moment until Richard asks him a question.

"What's your name?" he asks and rubs his hands together.

"Peter," he answers quickly but refuses to meet Richard's gaze. "Yours?"

"Richard. Guess we're cell mates for now."

"I guess."

"So," he says. "What are you in for?"

Peter scratches behind his ear. "I pulled a knife out on someone." Then quickly adds after seeing Richard's face. "In self defense. The lady screamed at me. I didn't even touch her."

"What were you trying to do?"

"Lift her purse. She was rich lady and it's not like she would've noticed. Then she screamed and now I'm here. What about you?"

"I stole space," he answers dryly. "Apparently that's one of the worst crimes ever."

Peter raises an eyebrow. "Really? That's all you did?"

Richard nods. "I guess we're both going to be stuck in here for a while."

"Guess so."

They run out of things to talk about and remain quiet. It's silent in the prison. Richard can hear the structure creaking and groaning from the ocean currents. That noise is certainly going to keep him from sleeping tonight.

They sit there for many hours, not saying anything to each other. Richard often paces around in the small cell. He leans against the cell door and looks around. Every other cell is filled with two boys. None of them are talking. He watches the guards silently commune with one another. It is going to be a very long day of just standing around doing nothing.

The only thing that happens during that whole day is when the cell doors slide open and the boys walk down to the tables. They stand in a line next to the kitchen and receive a tray of food for dinner. They even have assigned seating. Richard sits down at table one since he resides in cell one and looks down at his meal. It's a standard meal that consists of mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, and a piece of meat. In this case the meat is fish. Peter sits down beside Richard and looks down at his own meal. He barely eats any of what is given to him.

"You should eat," Richard says.

"I don't feel like it," he says and pushes away his tray.

Richard finishes his food, feeling satisfied since it's the best meal he's had in days. Peter eventually stands up and turns in his tray before going up to the cell. Richard soon follows since there's nothing else to do when he's allowed out of his cell.

He finds Peter lying down on his bunk. He looks at the top bunk of the other bunk bed and jumps up to it. He pulls out the picture of Gemma and sticks it against the wall near his pillow.

Peter doesn't move for a long time. He just continues to lie there on his bed. He doesn't even look at the cell door when it closes. Toiletries arrive through the cell door. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, wash cloths, toilet paper, soap. Everything that's considered essential.

Richard gets ready for bed while Peter continues to lie on his bed. When he walks back into the main part of the cell, Peter is there looking up at him. The younger boy quickly wipes his cheeks with the back of his hand and sniffles.

"You okay?" Richard asks.

Peter doesn't say anything and steps into the bathroom. Richard decides it'll be best to ask him later when he settles in. He jumps up onto his bed and stares up at the ceiling. It's still pretty quiet in the prison. No one speaks as they try to adjust to the new prison life. So far it hasn't been so bad. Dare he say it but he would actually prefer the prison than Ms. Spinner. At least the guards don't keep telling him how much of a screw up he is. Maybe he can make this place work to his advantage.

Peter returns from the bathroom and switches off the light in the cell, making it go dark. Richard heard him climb into his own bed and settle down for the night. He sniffles once more and doesn't make another sound for the entire night.

Richard slips under his blankets and folds his hands under his head. The light outside the cell continues to dim until it's mostly dark outside. He can hear the water push past the window in the cell, the low creaks and groans of the structure, and other sounds he's never heard of before. The ocean is different compared to Topside. It's certainly something to get used to but other than that it's an interesting place to be.

The one thing that Richard doesn't like about the prison was that the sounds keep him awake and he doesn't sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Black Pearls

Chapter Two

Black Pearls

Richard receives little sleep that night. He wakes up feeling worse. His head is pounding from the creaking prison. That's something he'll have to get used to.

He sits up in his bed and rubs his face. At least the prison isn't cold and it's not too hot either. Kind of like that golden girl with the three bears. Everything is just right. What's that story called again? It'll come to him.

With lack of clocks in the cell, he doesn't know what time it is. He doesn't even know what woke him up. Best to try and get a little more sleep before morning.

"Richard?" a small voice whispers. "Are you awake?"

Richard groans and rubs the bridge of his nose. There go his hopes for more sleep. "Yes, Peter, I am." He climbs on down from his bed and sits down on the bottom bunk. A little bit of light still seeps in from the barred cell door so they don't have to turn on the light.

"Something wrong?" he asks.

Peter bites his lip before answering. "I'm scared." He wipes his nose with the back of his hand.

"We're all scared sometimes. It'll be okay."

Peter sniffles. "Everything about this place scares me. The sounds, the feel of it." He shudders. "I'd rather be in a Topside reformatory."

"I say that this is the best place I've ever been in," says Richard. "Just give this place a try. It's not as crowded as the place I grew up in."

"Where'd you grow up?"

"In one of those Commonwealth boarding homes. I was always moved around from place to place and there were too many kids. There was never enough space. What about you, Peter? Where did you grow up?"

Peter shifts uncomfortably. "I was on the street for the past couple of years. Ran away from my home."

"Why'd you run?" he asks.

"My uncle was a drunk," answers Peter and rubs one of his arms. "I guess that's pretty self-explanatory."

"No parents?"

Peter shakes his head. "Never knew 'em. I've been living with my uncle since I could remember."

"So you're an orphan," Richard says quietly. "Just like me. I never knew my parents all that well either. They died a long time ago. Did you have any other family members that could've taken care of you? Older siblings?"

Peter shakes his head. "It's only been me and him. I never knew if I had any other family members. If I did, I doubt that I would've been living with him."

"Is that what you're scared about? That your uncle will find you?"

Peter shrugs sheepishly. "Just nightmares, I guess."

"Is that all then?"

Peter nods and settles back down on his bed. Richard smiles and climbs back up to his own bed.

"Hey, Richard," Peter calls out.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Richard pulls the blankets up. "No problem." He listens to Peter's breathing go deeper and slower. Soon the boy is asleep while Richard continues to lie on his bed. He knows he should at least try and get some sleep but he can't. He'll probably be able to catch up on it tomorrow, assuming he'll be locked up all day long. With this being his first time in a prison, it's going to take some getting used to. The whole schedule of it just seems so weird. Peter is right. This prison has a different feel to it and it doesn't feel good. Maybe it's the being underwater thing that gives off an odd feel. That's probably it.

* * *

><p>One of the guards stalks past his cell and bangs on the cell door with his truncheon. "Ten minutes till breakfast, boys," he bellows. "Make your beds and get ready."<p>

"No one ordered a wakeup call," Richard says. "And why do you care if we make our beds or not?"

"You're askin' for a tazing, boy," the guard retorts. "Now, move it."

The guard doesn't move until Richard climbs down from his bed and flicks on the light. The guard eventually moves onto the next cell.

"Time to get up, Peter," he says and gently shakes his cell mate. "Breakfast in ten."

Peter gets out of his bed. "Why are you making your bed?" he asks. "It's not like the guards will care."

"Apparently they do," he says. "Otherwise I wouldn't be making my bed." He does a messy job of making the bed. Quick and efficient is the way he likes it. The guard returns and inspects their handiwork. He shakes his head and tells them to do a neater job. Richard rolls his eyes and tucks in the corners. The guard finally lets them out.

Breakfast is a simple meal of cold cereal and juice. The servings are generous so Richard knows he won't go hungry. Peter even puts in an effort to eat more of his meal. He looks a little better this morning than last night. Probably just nerves from sleeping in a strange place.

After breakfast, the guards hustle the inmates towards the area of the subs, where all the dive equipment is kept. The guards have the boys sit down on the benches surrounding the perimeter of the dive room.

"All right, you little brats," the Warden shouts. "If you haven't guessed yet, this place is the dive room. Every day, twice a day after breakfast and lunch you will come directly here. You will suit up in your own custom dive suit. From there you'll go outside the prison and pan for manganese nodules, or black pearls." The Warden continues to explain everything about the process of panning for black pearls. "They are deep down in muck," he explains. "You have to scoop the muck into a sifter which will already be out there for you. Once you find a black pearl, they will look like one of these here." He holds up two black objects no bigger than small, skipping stones. One is smooth and the other is rough. "Once found, stick them into the sacks that you will have attached to your dive belt.

"Next is the dive gear. You will all find out that you have a small locker with your name on it. Inside you will find a dive suit and a dive helmet. Take off your prison jumper before you suit up into the dive suit. You will also find a pair of dive gloves and dive boots. Don't forget about those. Next is your dive helmet." The Warden picks a spare up. "Your crown lights are very important. You'll be able to turn them on just by tapping this little spot right here. Tap it again it will go brighter, tap it again it goes onto the brightest setting. Tap it once more time and the lights will shut off completely.

"Most importantly is the Liquigen." He picks up a package filled with a green substance. "This is what will keep you alive while out there. Snap it on the bottom of your helmet and then bite onto this tube here and suck in the Liquigen. Now it's vital for you to suck it in all the way to cover your lungs completely. If you don't, well you won't last long out there. Any questions?" None of the boys raises their hands. "Good. Now gear up."

Richard stands up and finds the locker with his name on it. He opens it up and finds everything the Warden said he would find. He strips himself of his prison jumper and slips into the close fitting dive suit. He snaps up the front of it and pulls on his dive boots and gloves. He finds a dive belt in the bottom of the locker and buckles it around his waist. He tosses his orange prison jumper to the locker and takes out his dive helmet. He closes the locker door and takes one of the green packages from a slot in the wall before snapping it into place just inside his dive suit. One of the guards hands him a black bag with a rope and a clip. He takes it and hooks the clip onto his dive belt.

Richard stands on the edge of the pool of water – or as the guards call it a moon pool- and snaps on his helmet before biting down on the tube of Liquigen. He sucks in deeply, feeling the green liquid slide down into his lungs. It has a terrible taste to it but he can't complain. This stuff is supposed to keep him alive while panning.

Just before he jumps into the water, a guard comes up behind him and locks a set of shackles around his ankles. He looks down at them. A really long chain is set between the cuffs. He looks at the guard.

"You didn't expect to be swimming around all free and easy did you?" the guard says and moves onto the next boy.

He double checks his helmet and jumps into the moon pool. He slowly sinks to the ocean floor and scrambles to turn on his crown lights. He taps his helmet until the lights are on full blast. It's silent. Just from a few seconds in the ocean, he realizes how much he misses the quietness of it all. All his life has been noisy and crowded. Now there's nothing but him and the open expanse of ocean.

More inmates sink down beside him, all wearing shackles around their ankles. Richard starts to wade his way through the water to where several guards are already stationed, all armed with harpoon guns and shock prods. He looks down at his feet, trying not to trip over his shackles.

He slowly swims up to the guards. They give him a shovel that is specially designed for underwater use. He trudges towards the black muck and sinks knee deep into the gunk. The sifters are set up beside the muck. He takes the shovel in his hands and scoops up his first batch of muck. It's a pitiful half shovel full but if he continues this twice a day, it won't be long before all of this muck is gone.

He dumps the muck into the sifter and goes back for another scoop of muck. Once the shifter is full, he pulls the lever and begins to rock it back and forth, back and forth until he comes upon… nothing. No black pearls, not even a rock. He picks up his shovel and stumbles his way back to the muck for another try. He continues to come up with nothing.

After an hour of this, Richard realizes that he hates panning for black pearls. His back is sore and stiff, he feels cold and compressed from the water, and he's extremely frustrated. Panning for black pearls is one of the worst things the Warden could probably make them do. Then he finds his first black pearl. It's round and smooth, just like one of the Warden's examples. It is small though. No larger than a common daddy long leg spider but it's a start. He drops it into the bag hooked to his waist and starts up the process all over again.

Slowly his bag begins to fill and grow heavier. His back will probably have a permanent hunch and his hands are sore and stiff. It isn't worth it for a few measly black pearls.

A voice speaks in the helmet. Richard assumes some sort of radio transmitter is inside. It's the Warden. He says it's time to come in. He looks from side to side and sees all the other boys leave their shovels and wade towards the moon pool. He rests the shovel against the sifter and slowly swims and trips his way to the moon pool. He jumps and kicks upward to grab the edge of the moon pool and haul himself up the rest of the way.

He collapses onto the edge of the moon pool and pulls his bag up. He snaps off his helmet and starts to cough up the Liquigen.

"Don't hack it up," one of the guards says. "It's hard on the lungs if you do. Breathe in and let it evaporate."

Richard breathes in and feels his lungs clear up. He drags himself towards a bench and sits on it. The other boys all do the same. A couple of guards walk past, collecting bags from the boys and take them away to a back room.

"Alright, boys," the Warden bellows. "You get a half hour break before you go out again. Get some lunch and do whatever the heck you want."

Richard stands on wobbly legs and walks towards his locker. He takes off all the dive equipment and pulls on his prison jumper, socks, and shoes. He stuffs his gear into his locker and walks towards the cafeteria to receive what he hopes to be a good meal.

Peter slumps down beside him at their table and looks down at his meal of tuna fish salad, some bread with butter, and a carton of milk. "I hate panning already," he says and awkwardly grasps his fork with red and raw hands.

Richard doesn't say anything and looks down at his own hands which are already starting to form blisters. "I've got three blisters already and the day isn't even over yet," he says and softly touches the forming blisters. "They'll be bleeding by the end of the day. I guarantee you that."

"If we're going to be panning every day, I don't think I'll last very long."

"You'll probably get used to it."

"I don't want to," Peter mumbles and turns back to his meal.

After lunch there was enough time for a short nap before going out again. Richard hopes that he will at least get a little bit of sleep but it's useless. All he can do is stare up at the ceiling and wish for sleep. He rolls onto his side and stares at the picture of Gemma. How is she doing without him? He always told her to stay strong and be tough. That way you'll make it out in the big world. She's independent enough to make it without him but still. What is she tries to go after him and ends up in a prison like his? What if he messed her up beyond repair? He did teach her how to pickpocket and some nasty swear words that probably shouldn't have come out. Not many good life skills there.

He takes his hand curls his finger to make a fist. _Stay strong, _he says and brings the fist over his heart. _Know that I love you. _Something he would always tell Gemma before lights out. He only wishes that she was there to tell him the same.


	3. Chapter 3: Cell Mates

Chapter Three

Cell Mates

It's been two weeks since Richard has arrived to Seablite. The days all have the same schedule. Be let out of the cell at eight after the beds are made. Breakfast is served right away. Meet up in the dive room at quarter after eight and suit up for panning. Dive into the water at eight-thirty. Pan for black pearls until quarter to twelve. Lunch is served. Try to get some sleep while on break. Dive back into the water to continue panning at quarter to one. Come back in at three thirty and take a shower in the medical showers. Rest until dinner is served at six. Be locked in the cell once again for the night at nine. Repeat cycle until released.

The only up sides to his stay here are the weekends. No work on either Saturday or Sunday. But the guards still expect them to learn. There is no schooling here. Richard is just fine with that he never really liked school to begin with. The guards patrol the hallways running along the cells as they keep the boys on track. Richard and Peter received two self-teaching books. The books are about learning sign language.

"What's the point of learning this again?" Peter asks and tosses his book aside.

"The guards already told us," Richard answers. "It's so we can understand what they are trying to say to us when we're panning."

"Because the Liquigen doesn't allow us to speak, right, I remember now."

"Give me the letter 'A.'" Peter lies down on his bed and holds up his first with the thumb on the side. "B." He unfurls all of his fingers and holds them up straight all of them together.

The cell door slides open, interrupting their little learning session. Richard looks up from his book and sees someone standing at the entrance of the cell. The guard shoves the boy into the cell and the bars slide closed after him.

The new boy is probably Peter's age. His unruly black hair is sticking up in odd places and a smile defines the dimples on either sides of his face.

"Looks like you guys are my cell mates," he says and steps away from the cell door. Richard stands up but Peter continues to lie on his bed.

"Name's Richard," he says and holds out his hand to the new boy.

"Eli," he says and shakes Richard's hand. He looks towards Peter. "What about you, pretty boy?" he asks.

Peter looks up at Eli and gives him an odd look. Richard answers for him. "That's Peter." He climbs back onto his bed and sets the open book on his lap once again. "You either get top bunk above Peter or lower bunk beneath me. Take your pick." Eli takes the bed above Peter. Peter rolls his eyes and passes his sign language learning book to Eli.

"We're learning sign language," Richard explains. "You'll understand why we're learning it soon enough. Just read over the words and try to memorize the alphabet."

"Gotcha."

"Peter, give me 'C.'" Peter raises his hand and curves his fingers to form the letter C. And so the lesson continues both ways. The alphabet is easy to master. Richard already has the alphabet memorized which means he'll be able to form words no problem. But that doesn't mean anything. Words still have their own sign. That's what the rest of the book contains, an endless supply of words and their actions.

Eventually the cell door slides open. It's dinner time and Richard is excited to get out of the cell. He may not like panning but it's better than being locked in a cramped cell all day long. His hands have formed multiple blisters which have long since popped and caused him a lot of pain. Eventually the blisters healed over, leaving his hands rough and calloused.

He sits down at his usual table spot and picks up his fork to tuck into the dinner of fish, potatoes, and vegetables. The same stupid meal he's always served at dinner. Peter and Eli arrive and take their places as well. He notices that there are more inmates in Seablite. Each table has at least one or two new inmates sitting there. The prison is growing.

"So what did they get you in for?" Richard asks and shoves a steamed carrot with his fork.

"Stealing," he answers proudly. "I stole lots of stuff and I don't regret any minute of it."

"What'd you steal?" Peter asks without looking up from his tray.

"Lots of things," he says. "Wallets, watches, rings, necklaces. You name it. What about you guys?"

"A lady screamed at me when I pulled out a knife in self defense," Peter says. "She screamed so loud it was like I actually stabbed her." Eli looks to Richard for an answer.

"I guess we're all a bunch of thieves then," he says and pokes the fish. "I stole space."

Eli nods, like he understands this whole situation. "I've heard of that. Apparently it's a big deal when you live in one of those Commonwealth boarding homes."

"You lived in one?"

Eli nods again. "Got no parents so yeah, I lived in one."

Peter leans over and whispers to Richard, "I think we can safely assume that everyone here is an orphan. I haven't met anyone who actually has parents."

Richard looks up at all the inmates. He has noticed that none of the boys seem devastatingly sad about coming here. He guesses that they've all been through too much to be shaken up about coming to a place like this. Maybe Peter is right. Maybe the inmates are all orphans.

"So what goes on in a fine prison like this?" Eli asks and scrapes off the remaining bits of food off his tray.

"Ever heard of black pearls?" Richard asks and Eli shakes his head. "Well we pan for them. Outside the prison there's this giant muck pit. You stand knee deep in that stuff for hours at a time, digging muck and sifting for black pearls," he says in a bitter tone.

"It's not fun if that's what you're asking," Peter adds.

"That's what we do every day during the week. On the weekends we learn sign language. Other than that this prison sucks the life out of me." Richard rubs his forehead and pushes his tray away from him. "One piece of advice, kid, keep your head down and do as you're told. Life might not be great here but you can at least try to make the days go by a little faster." Richard looks up at Eli who brings his gaze down to the table. He sighs. He just broke the kid's spirit and he hasn't even been here for a day yet.

He dumps off his tray and walks back up to his cell for the night. He stares at the small picture of his little sister. How many times has he found himself staring at the picture? Too many times to count probably. It's the one thing that gets him through the days. He likes to think that his sister is doing well without him. She's a strong, courageous kid. She takes after him, of course. Maybe Ms. Spinner is being nicer to her now, with him being in prison and all. It's almost too good to hope for that Ms. Spinner would be nicer to Gemma.

After getting ready for bed, Richard hops up onto his bed and slips underneath the blankets. Peter turns off the light as Eli settles in his own bed for the first night he will spend in Seablite. Tomorrow is Monday. That means they'll be going back to the dull pattern of the prison. He looks at his hands in the dark. With the faint light coming in through the bars, he's able to make out where the blisters used to be. He rubs his hands, feeling how rough they've become. He's only been here for two weeks and already he wishes he took more precautions to prevent being caught by Ms. Spinner. He doesn't regret a moment he and Gemma spent in those quality time rooms. Those moments spent in those rooms are unforgettable and he won't trade them for anything in the world.

He can't sleep either. That's another thing he's noticed since he arrived here. He can't sleep at night. He doesn't know if it's the creaking prison, the feeling of impending doom, or the constantly sore back and hands but whatever it is, he can't sleep. He stares up at the ceiling for long periods of time, waiting for the exhaustion and sleep that will never come.

After lying in bed, he kicks off his blankets and climbs down from the top bunk. Peter and Eli have long since fallen asleep so they won't wake up any time soon. He stands near the bars and looks around for the guards. Only two are patrolling the cells and they don't seem very into their work either. They talk in hushed tones, leaning against the railings. He looks in the other direction and can't seem to find any more guards. He assumes that they are all back in their rooms for the night, taking it easy and enjoying themselves.

One man does appear though. From the looks of it, he's a doctor. He wears the traditional white coat of one. His dark hair is combed back and dark stubble of a forming beard hasn't yet been shaved. He walks up to the relaxing guards. They straighten up before his presence. Richard listens intently but he can't seem to make anything out. The guards speak to the doctor intently. The doctor seems disheartened with their news but he walks off, leaving the guards alone.

Richard retreats back into his cell where he stares out the viewport window. It's too dark to see anything out there but still it's better than looking at the endless expanse of stack cities. He rather likes it. Maybe he should live subsea after he leaves Seablite. It would be an interesting experience. A new life, a fresh start. He takes in a deep breath. _We'll see when we get there_, he thinks.

Two hours later, Richard still can't sleep. He knows he should try to sleep for panning tomorrow but he can't. Peter shifts in his sleep and rolls onto his side. Richard leans against his bed posts and closes his eyes.

"Richard?" he asks. "What are you doing up?"

"Can't sleep, Peter," he answers. "Can't sleep and I don't think I will tonight."

"Something bothering you."

Richard shakes his head. "Nothing is. I never really can sleep in this place. Go back to sleep. I'll be fine."

Peter rolls over again and faces the wall. Soon, he's fast asleep once again. Richard sighs and climbs back up to his bed. He closes his eyes, hoping that his body would take the hint and go to sleep already. Hopefully this not sleeping thing won't last long. He can't take much longer of it.

Eventually he does fall asleep even if it is for a few hours. It's better than nothing. Eli learns quickly to make his bed. Then Richard points out that the guards won't let them out of the cell if his corners aren't tucked in.

"Well if you don't want to go panning for black pearls," Eli says, "then just don't tuck in your corners. The guards will keep you in here and you won't have to be stuck in muck. Problem solved."

"You don't get it, Eli," Peter hisses and shoves him back towards his messy bed. "The guards have Tasers and harpoon guns. They'll make you make your bed one way or another." Eli frowns but reluctantly complies with the request and straightens out his sheets.

Peter is the first one out of the cell. Richard walks beside Eli. "Don't take it personal, kid," he says. "Peter's a little bitter about being here. Stay with me and I'll make sure you'll be fine." Eli smiles a little and nods.

After breakfast, Richard leads Eli to the dive room where his own locker is set up by all the others. Richard explains everything to Eli in detail just like the Warden explained to him on his first day. Eli understands everything perfectly and takes off his prison jumper to get his dive suit on. Richard does the same.

He stands on the edge of the moon pool and waits for the guard to lock the shackles around his ankles. Eli stands beside him with his dive helmet in hand.

"Remember what I said about the Liquigen?" he asks his new cell mate.

Eli nods. "What are you waiting for?"

"The guards," he answers. He stands there for a moment more until the guard arrives and locks the shackles around his ankles. Eli looks down and frowns. "Welcome to Seablite, kid," he says and bites down onto the tube and sucks in the Liquigen. He adjusts his helmet and jumps into the water.


	4. Chapter 4: Metzger

Chapter Four

Metzger

Week number four slowly rolls around. Every day is as boring as the one before it, except today. After coming back in after panning during the afternoon, Richard is approached by one of the guards.

"Dr. Metzger wants to see you," he says and unlocks the shackles. "Shower and change quickly. He doesn't like to be kept waitin'."

"Yes, sir," he responds and steps towards the medical showers.

The medical showers have built in sensors to monitor the body, heart rate, blood pressure and all that other medical stuff. The warm water pours onto his back and sore muscles. He must admit that he is getting stronger with all the shovelfuls of muck he picks up. He can now manage a full shovelful of muck. His hands are rough and calloused over so he gets no more blisters from the shovel. After these four weeks in darkness, his skin is going pale. It's no longer tan from the sun exposure he's been used to for all his life Topside.

He zips up the orange prison jumper and follows the guard to wherever this doctor is. The guard raps twice on one door on the first level of the prison and waits. A muffled admission lets them into the room. Richard looks around the room and finds himself to be in a medical lab of sorts. A medical table is set in the middle of the room with stands on wheels off to the side of it. Tables are set up all over the perimeter of the room, covered in medical tools. The Dr. Metzger is sitting at the end of the room at a desk. He swivels in his chair and faces Richard. He seems like a nice man. He gives off this sort of father figure. His dark hair is still combed back and his beard is not yet shaven off. He waves a hand over a chair beside the desk which Richard takes immediately.

"Thank you, sir," the doctor says to the guard. "You may leave now." The guard nods and leaves the room, closing the door firmly behind him.

The doctor looks down at a file in front of him. Richard sneaks a glance and notices it that it's his criminal record with his prison photo firmly attached to the first page. He looks away and waits patiently for the doctor to start talking.

"Richard Straid," he says. "Fourteen years old, convicted of stealing space, a serious offence I've heard." He closes the file and looks at Richard. "My name is Doctor Metzger but you can call me Doc if you want. I'm the resident doctor here in Seablite."

"What do you need to see me for?" he asks and folds his arms over his chest. He has no reason to be here.

"Well this is the first prison built under water. The 'wealth wants to make sure that its inmates are doing well so they can build more prisons down here if need be."

"So we're pretty much an experiment," he concludes. "All for the sake of the 'wealth."

"Don't put it like that. Would you rather be stuck in a reformatory Topside where it's even more crowded?" Richard doesn't answer. "Exactly my point. No, you wouldn't want to be stuck Topside. Anyway, I called you here today so I could ask you just a few questions."

Richard nods. "Go on, Doc, I'm listening."

Doc smiles. "Excellent." He pulls out a pad of lined paper and clicks a pen. "Have you noticed anything strange happening to you?"

"No," he says warily. "Not really. Can you explain to me of what you're expecting exactly?"

"Like can you see better in the dark, can you hear things that you wouldn't normally be able to hear?"

Richard shakes his head. "Nothing like that, sir."

"Okay, thank you." Doc quickly jots down a few notes on the paper. "Next question, are you having any difficulties adjusting to life under water?"

"A little," he says. "I haven't been sleeping well. I don't know if it's the sounds of the prison or it's the feel of living underwater but I just don't sleep well."

"Explain."

Richard shifts in his seat. "I lie awake in bed for hours. When I finally do fall asleep, it's only for a few hours. I just can't sleep."

Doc writes this all down. "Thank you for telling me this, Richard. It's best to know all of these things."

"Is there anything you can do about my sleeping issue?"

"I could always set up some medication for you if this problem persists any longer but it takes time for the body to adjust to living underwater. Just give it a little more time and if the problem persists, let me know. You may leave now."

"Thank you, sir." Richard stands up and leaves the medical room.

He makes it back up to his cell. Peter and Eli both look at him from their beds. "Where were you?" Peter asks.

"Talking to the resident doctor," he answers. "Dr. Metzger, that's his name though we can call him Doc. He just asked me a few questions and then let me leave. It's not a big deal."

"What did he ask you?" Eli asks.

"Just questions about how I'm doing here. Apparently this is the first prison built underwater and he wants to know how the inmates are doing underwater. I told him I'm doing perfectly fine."

"So we're living in an experimental prison?" Peter asks and Richard nods. "Well that's just great. My life is now an experiment."

"No it's not, Peter," Eli says. "Your life is just being rehabilitated so you can once again become a functioning member of society. Or that's what the Warden said when I got here."

"For the last time, Eli, I told you I pulled the knife out in self-defence. I shouldn't be here."

"None of us should be," Richard says quietly.

Dinner comes around with the same meal only instead of potatoes it's a dinner roll. Something just a little different but at least it's a change, something Richard needs in his life. Nothing else is different though. It's all the same boring routine and nothing is going to change. And this is all for his benefit apparently, to make him a better person but he's already a good person. He did take care of Gemma for years and years didn't he? Shouldn't he be forgiven for that petty crime? He didn't kill anyone. He didn't sabotage anything or destroy anything. The only thing he did was steal space. It shouldn't be a crime but in the Topside world it's one of the worst crimes someone could ever commit. It's an unfair world Richard lives in. The powerful are taken care of and the poor are kicked to the side. Families are overlooked and forgotten, never cared for. And now he's being punished for it, for stealing space.

Seablite has changed him in the weeks he's been here and continues to change him with every passing day. He doesn't sleep, he doesn't smile, doesn't laugh, doesn't have fun. He works, he eats, he sleeps a little, and repeats the pattern. It truly is a cruel world he lives in.

At night he tries something different to try and get him to sleep. He climbs down from his bed and faces the back wall. He lies down on his back with his knees bent and his hands folded under his head. He began to sit up and then lie back down and continued. While he's awake he might as well do something that will tire him out.

He loses count of the sit ups and just keeps going until he is out of breath. He closes his eyes and lies down on the cold, hard ground for a while. He drifts off once in a while but wakes up and realizes he's sleeping on the floor. He climbs back onto this bed and smiles for once. He found a way to make him sleep. That way he won't need Doc's medication. He'll be perfectly fine from now on. He probably won't have to talk to Doc anytime soon.

He finds Doc to be a very nice man. He's nice than most of the guards here and is definitely nice than the Warden. This is a good thing. There is at least one person in Seablite in which Richard can trust. This is just what he needs to survive in this prison, a person he can trust.


	5. Chapter 5: Colours

Chapter Five

Colours

Time did pass by rather quickly, Richard finds. By the time he realizes it, five months have passed by since he arrived at Seablite. His life has been boring as heck and so far nothing suggests that it's going to get any better than it already is.

He stomps down on his shovel and lifts another pile of muck into the sifter. He fills the sifter to the brink and leans the shovel against the sifter. He rocks the sifter back and forth until the black pearls emerge from the piles of black ooze. He grabs them with his gloved hand and drops the few black pearls into his filling sack.

He looks over at Peter who is set up beside him. He signs to him quickly. _Hey, Peter, what time is it?_

Peter looks over and shrugs. _What makes you think that I know?_

_Don't you have a watch or anything? _Richard imagines Peter rolling his eyes. Peter shakes his head and reaches for his shovel again Richard does the same.

Sign language didn't take all that long to learn. It was easy to memorize the different actions but now that he has all of them memorized, there is nothing to occupy his time on the weekends.

He steps on the shovel and dumps the muck into the sifter. The light seeps through the waves and down into the ocean, illuminating Seablite. It's a brighter day today under the waves. He has his crown light on the lowest setting. He looks up for a moment at the sea above him. A dark shadow twists and turns above him. A shark, he supposes. He watches the magnificent beast pass overhead, completely unaware of the humans below it.

A sharp poke brings his attention back to the sifter. He looks at the guard in front of him and notices that the guard has a shock prod out and at the ready. Richard gets the point and returns to work. So far he hasn't been shocked by a shock prod or threatened with a harpoon gun or locked in the hole. He's been on his absolute best behaviour. He's heard that good behaviour in prisons gets you somewhere. Like being able to leave prison a little bit earlier for example. Now living Topside doesn't seem so bad anymore. At least he would be in school learning and doing something with his life other than panning for black pearls.

A guard radios in and tells the inmates that it's time to come in. Richard walks as fast as he can to the bottom of the moon pool and kicks upward. He grips onto the edge of the moon pool and hauls himself onto the edge. He stands up warily but doesn't wait for the shackles to come over. He waddles over to the nearest bench and sits down immediately. He tugs off his helmet and takes in a deep breath. The Liquigen evaporates. The other inmates all climb in and tug off their helmets as well. Richard closes his eyes and takes his time before he has to go into the medical showers.

A guard unlocks the shackles and leaves with them in hand. Richard has considered escaping a few times while panning. The shackles wouldn't inhibit him too much from escaping. It would be a little difficult at first moving with the shackles but in water you can do practically anything you want, moving in all six directions. The only thing that can stop him from escaping is the guards. They have harpoon guns that will spear him in a matter of seconds. He wouldn't be able to escape without being injured or being killed in the process. He gave up on ideas of escape. He'll just have to wait until he's released, whenever that will be.

He eventually takes his prison jumper and a clean towel out of his locker and stumbles towards the medical showers. He finds one that is not yet used and steps inside the stall. He pulls off all of his dive gear and sets it down on the ground with the jumper on top. He pulls off the white t-shirt and white shorts he wore underneath and turns on the tap. The warm water pours out of the faucet, instantly dousing him from head to foot. He holds his hand underneath the soap dispenser. It drizzles a fair amount of the white soap into his hand. He scrubs the soap into his hair and rubs the lather all over his body. The constant beeping just outside of his shower stall monitors his heart beat and everything appears to be normal, just as it always reports every single day.

With his body squeaky clean, he takes the towel and makes quick work of redressing into his prison jumper. The stupid orange colour makes him feel dull and the same as the others. He wants to be different. He wants to be noticed as a young man not an inmate who has to be _rehabilitated, _as Eli would put it. He's not a psycho. He's a teenage boy who loves his sister. That's all he is.

The dive gear is once again placed neatly into his locker and the wet towel is tossed into a laundry hamper to be washed this weekend. What day is it today again? Friday? Richard groans inwardly. He's signed up for laundry duty this weekend. That means he'll be spending both days in the laundry room, washing, drying, and folding mountains of laundry. He hated laundry duty.

He steps into his cell and climbs back onto his bed to stare at the small picture of Gemma. Eli is too engrossed in his comic book to care and Peter could care less about what Richard looks at. Wouldn't it be her birthday soon? Her tenth birthday? That was a big milestone. Ten fingers old and her first birthday alone. He would've bought her gift and then snuck into one of the quality time rooms for a little fun and games. It would've been great. It would've been fun. It would've been just him and Gemma together like a family should be.

"Hey, Richard," Eli says and shakes his arm.

Richard rolls over on his side. "What?"

"Dinner time."

Richard nods and climbs down off his bed. Eli waits for Richard to catch up. He eventually does and follows Eli to the line of boys, waiting to receive their dinner tray.

"Why do you look at the picture all the time?" Eli asks as they wait in line.

"What picture?" Richard asks and stretches.

"Don't play dumb with me. You look at the little picture beside your bed every time after the second round of panning. You stare at it for hours until dinner. What's with the picture?"

"It's my kid sister," he answers and picks up his tray and a drink before leaving for his table. "There's nothing much to say about it."

"You miss her?"

"Yes. Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope," Eli answers simply and sits down on the bench.

Richard notices that Peter isn't at the table yet. He looks at the line and doesn't seem him their either. "Where's Peter?"

"Talking to Doc," Eli answers and picks up his fork. "You didn't notice him leave?"

Richard shakes his head. "He's very quiet. I didn't hear him leave."

"He's been talking to Doc for a while now," he says and looks towards the door to the medical lab. He looks worried.

"He'll be fine," Richard says. "Doc is a trustworthy man, more trustworthy than the rest of the guards here. Has he talked to you yet?"

Eli nods. "Once. He seemed like a nice man, he just seems creepy."

"Creepy, how?"

He shrugs. "His beard throws me off. I don't like people with beards. They scare me," he whispers.

Richard laughs a little. That's the funniest thing he's heard since he came to Seablite. "How do they scare you?"

"Most evil villains have beards," he explains.

"Like who?"

"Blackbeard the pirate, Captain Hook, Mangiafuoco, I could go on."

"Mangia-who?"

"I'll tell you later."

Peter does join them a bit later. He shakes his shaggy blond hair out of his eyes and settles down on the bench beside Richard.

"You know, you can get a haircut here," Richard suggests and slices into his fish fillet. "I've gotten one, Eli's gotten one. There is nothing stopping you from getting a haircut."

"You can cut your hair but I don't want to," he answers. "It's my hair. I can do anything I want with it."

"What'd the Doc ask you?" Eli asks.

Peter shrugs. "Same stuff as you guys. Nothing new, I guess. Same old, same old." He digs into his meal eagerly, something Peter usually never does eat that quickly or that much.

"Hungry, Peter?" Richard asks.

"If you forgot, I didn't eat lunch. Of course I'm going to be hungry."

Richard pushes his empty tray away from him. "I'm on laundry duty tomorrow," he says mournfully. "I'll be stuck in the laundry room all day long."

"Weren't you on laundry duty two weeks ago?" Eli asks.

Richard shakes his head. "That was Peter. I was helping him out, unlike you."

Eli raises his hands in defence. "Sorry I was sleeping in. You could've wakened me to help but you didn't."

"Yeah well, you can help me this weekend, Eli," Richard says with a fake smile. "We'll have so much fun together. We'll be washing and folding laundry all day long."

Eli pouts. "Please say it ain't so."

"It's only fair, Eli," Peter says and pushes his hair out of his eyes. "It's your turn to help out."

"Yeah, and just you wait, come my turn you guys won't help me." Richard and Peter say nothing and look down at the table. "Just as I suspected. You guys really do suck."

Richard smiles. "Don't worry, Eli. We'll help. It'll keep me occupied during the weekend."

"Same here," Peter says. "It's not like I got anything to do on the weekends."

"What time do I have to wake up again?" Richard asks.

"You get out of your cell at regular time," he answers. "Start after breakfast. It'll help when your stomach is full."

"Thanks for the advice, Pete." He meets Peter's icy gaze and corrects his mistake. "I mean, Peter." The blond boy turns back to his meal and Richard rolls his eyes. Peter was very particular about what his name should be. No nicknames or name calling. It's either Peter or nothing else.

Richard brushes his teeth in the bathroom of his cell. His mother always told him to take care of his teeth before she died. That's one clear memory he still has of her. He doesn't have many of his dad only vague shadows. He knows his dad was a tall man with a kind smile. His dad was gone a lot. He remembers that. He was always gone looking for jobs, trying to support their small family but everybody was looking for jobs then. There was a down turn in the economy. His dad was laid off and was in search for work. He took every small job he could find. Most of them were far away. Dad was always gone but Mom was always there. Until the train crash. Then they were both gone and there was only Gemma.

He rinses his toothbrush and leaves the bathroom. He flicks off the light and climbs up onto his bed and touches his fist to his heart. He wishes he could send letters to Gemma and let her know that he's okay. But the guards are very strict about their zero contact policy when in Seablite. No matter how much he pleaded or asked them they all said the same thing, no.

Once Peter and Eli are fast asleep, he swings his legs over the ladder and silently drops to the ground. He assumes his regular position on the floor and presses his palms on the cold ground. Tonight will be push ups, just to change it up a little.

He straightens and tenses his legs and slowly pushes himself off the ground. He lowers himself after a short moment and pushes off again. He continues until his arms are sore and he's exhausted. He sits against the wall and pushes up his prison jumper sleeves to cool off. He places his hands on his knees and closes his eyes. He wishes he could see a different colour other than orange. There is no life in the colour orange. He looks like a pumpkin. He hates the colour orange now. After wearing it for five months, you would hate the colour orange too. He wants something different.

He opens his eyes and is about to stand up when he sees something on his arm. A spot of colour. He runs his hand over the spot where he thought he saw a spot of colour. He looks down at his arm and concentrates. Maybe his sleep deprived brain is playing tricks on him. That would happen since he hasn't gotten a good sleep in months.

It happens again. A spot of colour appears and then disappears as fast as it appeared. He concentrates really hard and brings the colour back. It probably is his sleep addled brain since all the sudden other colours appear at random, curving and forming a small rainbow on his forearm. He closes his eyes, trying to stop tears from forming. Of all the things his mind could trick him on is to show him colours that exist only in his mind and will be gone by morning.


	6. Chapter 6: Rage

Chapter Six

Rage

Richard slept well that night. His workout certainly tired him out and he had his first good night's sleep in a long time. When he finally woke up for good, he finds his eyes to be all crusty. He hates it when his eyes get like this. It's a dead giveaway that he's been crying and he doesn't cry in front of anybody.

He quickly rubs his eyes and spots something on his forearm. He looks more closely at it and realizes the rainbow from last night has still not gone away. So his mind wasn't playing tricks on him last night. But how did that get there? He tries to rub it off but the rainbow is part of his skin. Somehow he did that. Somehow he made that rainbow appear on his skin because he wanted to look at a different colour other than orange. Could he really make images appear on his skin? Bed sheets rustle next to him. He pulls his sleeves down and covers the rainbow. He'll figure something out later.

After breakfast, Richard and Eli make their way to the laundry room. Bags of laundry fill the room, signifying a long work day ahead of them. They start quickly to get out of the room earlier instead of later. There are several washing machines and dryers so several loads can be done at once but the longest part that will take is folding the laundry and putting them back into neat piles. The Warden likes his prison neat and tidy. Richard learned that.

First they empty all the laundry bags into the washing machines until they are all full. Richard measures the detergent and dumps the grainy soap onto each load. Eli walks past and turns the machine on and closes the lid. Now they have to wait until the washing cycle is done to start the drying cycle.

Richard is distracted. He continues to stare at his arm where he knows the rainbow will be there and will never ever leave. It appeared yes but he doesn't know how and he doesn't know how to get rid of it. It scares him. Seablite is changing him quickly and not for the better.

"Richard," Eli calls out again.

Richard turns his head. "What?"

"You might want to the move the detergent away from the edge of the table." Richard looks at the detergent box and sees that is dangerously close to the edge. A spilt box of detergent wouldn't be a very good thing. He shoves the box onto the middle of the table and rubs his arm.

"Is there something bothering you?" Eli asks. "You seem… out of it."

"I don't know," he whispers and looks around to see if any guard is around to hear what he is about to tell Eli. "Can you keep a secret?" Eli nods and takes a few steps closer. "I really need to trust you on this," Richard says quietly. "You can't tell anyone about it."

"What about Peter?"

"I'll tell Peter when I'm sure I want to tell him." Richard takes in a deep breath and pushes back his sleeve to expose the small rainbow on his forearm.

"Whoa you got a tattoo?" Eli says excitedly. "No offence but if I were to get a tattoo, I would probably get something a little more manly than a rainbow.

"It's not a tattoo," Richard says. "I don't know what it is. I was up late last night when it happened. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me but then it stayed. It won't come off."

"You mean it just appeared, like out of the blue?"

Richard nods and strokes the rainbow. "I don't know how it happened. I guess I was just sick of looking at the colour orange all the time and wanted something different. Look, I don't know how it appeared. It just did and now I can't get rid of it."

"Can you make other things appear?" Eli asks, without tearing his gaze away from the small rainbow.

"I don't know, Eli. I just don't know. And you can't tell anyone about this. I don't want it to get out."

"Why not?"

Richard shrugs. "I just don't want everyone to look at me like I'm some sort of freak. I have to talk to Doc first before I tell anyone else. If anyone can heal me, he can."

Eli nods and takes a few steps back. "Your secret's safe with me."

Richard nods. "Thanks."

They work the rest of the time in silence. Eli sneaks glances at Richard every once in a while, like he is looking at him through a microscope. That makes Richard's mood less and less optimistic about this condition.

Richard returns to his cell later in the afternoon. The cell is empty when he enters it. He steps into the bathroom and rolls up his sleeve. He traces the rainbow with his finger tips. He sticks his hand under the water tap and turns the water on hot. He uses a bit of soap and begins to scrub furiously at the rainbow. He only made his arm red and irritated. He turns off the water of the water and dries his arm. He pulls down his sleeve and tugs at it so it won't slip up later and expose the rainbow.

Richard keeps to himself the rest of the day. He'd rather keep to himself and think about his predicament. This is all just a short term illness. He'll talk to Doc after dinner and everything will be fine. He's just over reacting a bit. Everything is going to be fine.

His mood doesn't improve by dinner. Peter and Eli notice but don't say anything about it though. He collects his dinner tray and begins to walk towards his table. He bumps shoulders with one of the other inmates.

"Watch where you're going, kid," the inmate growls. Richard pushes past and sits down at his table. He looks over at the inmate he bumped and sees that the inmate is one of the older ones, perhaps even a little older than Richard a little bigger than him too. Best not to get into a fight with him.

He meets Eli's gaze for a moment. Eli flicks his eyes in Peter's direction. Richard shakes his head slightly. He knows what Eli wants to do. He wants to tell Peter about Richard's secret but he isn't ready yet to let his condition become public. He wants to keep it on the down low for now.

He stands to returns his tray. The larger inmate stands as well and purposely bumps into Richard. The inmate is probably a little bored with prison life and is looking for some trouble and excitement. Richard just wants to avoid everyone. He doesn't want the stares anymore. He wants to be left alone but today is not a good day.

"Watch where you're going, boy," the inmate says and gives Richard a shove.

"Get out of my way then," Richard hisses and sidesteps around the inmate to return his tray.

"Are you going to tell me what to do?" the inmate says and turns Richard around to face him.

"I said get out of my way." He shoves the inmate back with force and begins to make his way to the stairs.

"Do you think that I'm going to take that from you? You're just a prison rat just like me. What makes you so better than me?"

Richard shrugs. "My intelligence perhaps? You come off very ape like." Richard knows that wasn't a smart thing to say but he couldn't help it.

Next thing he knows is that the inmate is gripping the front of his prison jumper in one hand and lands his fist on his jaw. Richard's head snaps to the side. The blow was hard and fast. He didn't have any time to prepare himself. Richard has fought at school before so he's no stranger to fights. He punches the inmate in the stomach and inmate releases him.

The fight escalades from there. Richard and the inmate circle each other. The guards haven't interfered yet. They exchange punch for punch for a few minutes. The other inmates are cheering on the fight. It's the most excitement they've had in a long time. Then the fight takes a bitter turn. Rage consumes him. The inmate taunts him with words and constantly insults Richard's parents, just to get him rallied up. He tells Richard that his daddy was a no good drunk and that his mommy slept around with other men when his daddy was gone. Richard goes a little too far and punches the inmate on the nose, cracking it with one swift punch.

As he gains control of his senses, he realizes that the inmates are all staring at him, straight at him in total silence. He looks down at himself to see what they are staring at. He looks down at his hands first and sees that his skin is red, blood red. He pushes up his sleeves and sees the redness spread all over his body. Then the red disappears quickly as soon as the rage is gone. His skin returns to the normal pale colour he always has.

"You there!" a guard shouts and runs over to the cafeteria. Richard knows he's talking to him. "Stay there!" Richard obeys the command and stays where he is. The guard grips Richard's arm and starts to haul him towards the hole. He doesn't struggle or try to plead his case. It's better than having everyone staring at him.

The guard shoves him into the small room and locks the door securely after him. Richard looks around the room. It's probably eight feet by eight feet big. The bed is a rubber mat on the floor with a scratchy looking blanket and thin pillow. A toilet with a sink attached is set off to the side. There is no window, nothing to look out or in. A slot is located at the bottom of the steel door which is probably for his meals to slide through.

He slides down against the wall and sits down on the rubber matt. He brings his knees up to his chest and surrounds them with his arms so he has a place to rest his head on. He's tired of this. He's tired of Seablite, tired of being alone, tired of this life he's living. There is no point in living it anymore. And now to make matters even worse he has a condition that changes his skin. He doesn't want to go on like this.

He looks down at his forearm where the rainbow should be and finds that it's gone. "Nice time to have left," he says. "Make me look like some sort of freak out there." With his sour mood, returns the rainbow, seemingly mocking him. He rolls his eyes. "Thanks for keeping me company," he responds sarcastically.

As he continues to stare at the rainbow, he might as well make good use of his time and figure out what this whole 'changing colour' condition thing he is capable of. He starts by trying to make the rainbow disappear. It's harder than it sounds. He has to concentrate really hard and finally the rainbow disappears, slowly but it goes away, leaving his skin normal once again.

Next task is to make the rainbow reappear. He focuses on one patch of skin for a long time until the colours seep into his skin and curve to form that familiar shape. He doesn't smile. It's not something to be proud of. This is a disease. He has to be healed of it. He doesn't want to remain this freak. First he has to figure out how to control it. When he knows how to control it, he can talk to Doc about it and Doc will be able to heal him very quickly and everything will go back to normal. No more stares, no more secrets. Life will once again be normal, as normal as it has ever been in Seablite.

Then the lights shut off. He stands and fumbles for a light switch but doesn't find any. The lights in the hole are on a timer. They turn on and off automatically and he has no idea when they'll turn on again. Panic seizes him for the first time since he arrived. The dark is too dark. It's suffocating him, closing in around him. He trips on the rubber matt and falls down. He pulls himself into a corner and tries to steady his breathing. He's scared. He feels alone and helpless. He can't breathe.

Then a glimmer of light appears. It's so odd and alien. He looks around for the light but discovers it's coming from his body. He rolls up both sleeves and finds that his arms are glowing in the dark, providing enough light to fill the room and disperse the shadows. He calms down, thankful for this gift, whatever it is. There's one good thing for this gift. He doesn't have to spend the night in the dark.

He settles down on the rubber mat and pulls the blanket over his shoulders. The light dims a little bit as he settles down for the long night ahead. Maybe this gift isn't so bad after all.


	7. Chapter 7: Freak

Chapter Seven

Freak

Time in the hole goes by very slowly. Richard knows that he had to spend a week in the hole before he is allowed out. He entertains himself by playing with his gift. He discovers that he can do almost anything with his skin. He can change colours, he can camouflage against the wall, he can make himself shiny and reflective like a mirror. It's amazing what he can do now. He can control it, turn it on and off like a switch. Maybe this gift isn't so bad after all. He kind of likes it already.

Other than changing the colour of his skin, he keeps himself entertained by doing many sit ups and push ups. There is nothing else he can do in this small room. With limited space, he understands why this is a form of punishment. If he wasn't able to entertain himself, he would've lost his mind within the first twenty-four hours.

When the door finally opened, Richard sighs and gets to his feet. Two guards are standing there with shock prods out and at the ready. "Come with us," one says and Richard steps out of the small cell. He walks between the two guards. All the inmates are gone, probably in the water already panning for black pearls.

The guards lead him to the medical room. Doc is sitting at his desk with papers scattered all around. The guards quickly leave the door is closed, leaving Richard and Doc alone.

"Have a seat, Richard," Doc says kindly. Richard takes the seat and tugs on his sleeves. Does Doc already know about his little incident a week ago? "I heard."

"Heard about what?" Richard asks, trying to act like he has no idea what Doc is talking about.

"About your little episode last week," he continues. "You were fighting one of the other inmates and from the accounts of several guards your skin turned red, blood red, Richard." Doc looks down at his papers. "Can you tell me exactly what happened that day?"

Richard shift in his seat uncomfortably. "Sure. I wasn't having a good day to start with. The guy bumped shoulders with me and it just escaladed from there. I just couldn't control myself. Next thing I know everyone is staring at me. I didn't understand why at first until I looked down at my hands. My whole body was red. Then the colour went away and that's about it."

Doc nods and writes this all down on a piece of paper. "Very interesting," he says. "Very interesting indeed."

"Is there something wrong with me?" he asks.

"I don't know, Richard." Doc sits back in his chair. "This is the first time I've ever heard of someone changing the colour of their skin. Frankly, I don't know what to do."

"But you can do something right?"

Doc nods. "What we need to do is to study it. We'll have to run many tests to figure out what is happening to you but since you've had this… gift for a week, I can safely assume that it won't cause you any pain in the future. But if anything does happen to you out of the ordinary, come to me right away and we can figure something out."

"So do I come back again?" he asks.

Doc nods again. "You'll probably be called down some time tomorrow once I get all the equipment set up. Just take it easy and get lots of rest."

"Yeah, about the resting part, I still don't sleep well at night," he says. "It hasn't gotten any better since our first visit."

Doc scratches his beard. "Jump up on the medical table and I'll get you checked out."

Richard obeys Doc and sits on the medical table in the middle of the room as Doc searches for his medical bag. He takes it out and sets it down beside Richard. First he listens to Richard's breathing and pulse. He shines a light in his eyes and ears and gives him the whole medical examination.

"Explain to me what you do at night," he asks.

Richard nods. "I sit in bed for a while. I feel tired but I just can't sleep. I think it has to do with the sounds the prison makes. The creaking keeps me awake. The only way I can sleep is when I do a whole lot of push ups or sit ups. I have to tire my body out completely in order for me to sleep."

Doc cleans up his medical tools. "I do have something that could help you sleep. Some of the guards here also have trouble sleeping at some point. Sit tight, I'll be right back." Doc turns around and leaves the room in search of a cure for Richard's sleeping problems.

Richard looks around the room. It's very clean and polished looking. Medical gear is placed all around the room in an orderly manner. A large light overhead baths the room in a white glow. It's not so bad. It's not as cramped as the medical rooms Topside. It's alright for a medical room set underwater in a prison. It's not that bad.

Doc returns a few minutes later with a plastic bottle in his hand. "Here we are," he announces. "These are sleeping pills that you take at night just before you go to bed with a little bit of water. Now, don't take more than one ever. If you are feeling a little bit weird when you're taking them regularly, come straight to me and I'll get you checked out. This bottle should last you a while. When it runs out, return and I'll give you another check-up."

Richard takes the bottle from Doc. "Thanks, Doc," he says and steps of the medical table.

He stays in his cell until lunch. The guards don't make him go out to pan for black pearls. There's no point in it now or maybe this is an extension of his punishment to sit in his empty cell for another few hours. Considering everything, the hole wasn't as bad as the Warden made it seem. It was quite… interesting. Richard got a lot of thinking done in there. Plus a lot of discovery about his gift. Oh no, his gift. He didn't think of this before. Come lunch, everyone will look at him strangely like he came from a different planet. Now he'll have to deal with the staring all over again.

He stares at the picture of Gemma on the wall. What would she think about him now? Would she still look up to him even though he's like a freak of nature? He likes to think that she'll always love him no matter what the colour of his skin is. He's her older brother. She'll always love him.

Once he hears talking, he slowly walks out of his cell. He collects his lunch tray and sits down at the table, shoulders hunched forward, as if that could protect him from the staring eyes. Peter and Eli soon join him at the table, breathing hard from panning for many hours. Eli is quite oblivious at first. He doesn't look at Richard at all. He's focused on the food in front of him. Peter, on the other hand, is quiet but not the kind of quiet he usual is. It's like something is bothering him. Richard looks down at his tray and ignores everyone around him. But it's hard when you're the center of attention.

It's like the other inmates don't notice that Richard has ears and can hear most of what they are saying. He hears bits and pieces…. _Freak… skin turned red… gonna happen to us?... gonna die soon. _Richard grows tired of the whispering and finishes his food as fast as he can so he can sit in his cell and disappear.

Peter enters the cell and looks up at Richard who is sitting on his bed, staring at his hands. "You're alive," he says. "Thought you might go crazy in the hole after a week."

"It wasn't so bad," he says. "It was quiet and nobody could stare at me."

Peter rubs the back of his neck nervously. "Scared of me too?" Richard asks. "I'm practically the biggest freak in the prison. Go ahead, say I'm freak."

"Richard, I-"

Richard jumps down from his bed and shoves Peter up against the wall with one hand gripping the smaller boy's prison jumper. "Say it!" he roars.

"I'm not!" Peter says and thrashes out of Richard's grip. "I'm not going to say it because it's not true."

"How do you know?" he argues. "Do you know what it feels like to be stared at all the time just because I change the colour of my skin? Do you know what it feels like, knowing that you might never be healed? Do you?"

"Of course I don't know," Peter answers. "I'm not you, Richard. I don't have what you have but how do you expect people to react to this? Of course people are going to talk about you and call you a freak. By next week they'll forget all about it and move onto something else. Assuming you don't do anything that makes you change colour."

"It's scary," he whispers, "knowing that I can do this with my skin and no one else can't."

"You'll get through it," Peter says. "You can get through anything." Richard smiles weakly. "What exactly can you do with it?" he asks.

"Well," Richard says, "I can do a lot of things. I can practically do anything."

"Can you demonstrate for me?" Peter asks with a smile.

"Sure." Richard steps away from the cell door and backs into a corner, just to be safe. He pushes up his sleeves to his elbows. He starts by making a small, black snake slither on his skin. It curves around his forearm. He brings his arms together and transfers the snake onto his other arm.

"That's pretty cool," Peter whispers.

"I had a lot of time to practice," he answers and changes the colour of the snake from black to green. The snake bares its fangs and slithers underneath Richard's sleeve, disappearing from sight.

"How do you think it happened?"

Richard shrugs. "I don't know. It started showing up a week ago. I told Eli about it when we were in the laundry room. I didn't know what to make of it at first. This appeared one night." He makes the rainbow resurface on his arm. "It wouldn't go away and then it just escaladed from there."

"Nice," Peter says. "A rainbow."

"Don't even start. I wanted to see different colours and it made this shape instead." The rainbow disappears. "Now everyone knows so you don't have to keep this news to yourself. I just don't want to show it off all that much. I just want Doc to find a cure so I can go on living my life normally again."

"What if he can't heal it?"

"He will," Richard says. "If anyone can fix me, it'll be him."

A guard walks by the cell and bangs his baton on the cell bars. "Panning time," he says.

"We can worry about this later," Richard says and walks out of the cell with Peter. "Just focus on getting through the afternoon."

Richard opens his locker and dresses into his dive gear. He can't wait to go panning. He'll finally be able to go out of the prison for the first time in a week. He misses the ocean. It's a nice place to live in. he can understand why people would live underwater in the first place. There's so much space and freedom to do what you want without thousands of people looking at you. Maybe when he gets out of Seablite, he'll move him and Gemma down here and steak a claim. Then they'll have all the space they want and even have their own quality time room. Maybe everything will be all right.

When panning was over, Richard finds himself in a much better mood. Being out in the ocean calmed him quite a lot. The quiet of it all and the sights he's able to see make him see why the ocean is a great place to live.

Back in his cell for the night, he swallows one of the sleeping pills he got from Doc with a little bit of water from the tap in the bathroom. Maybe he'll actually sleep tonight.

He climbs up the ladder to his bed. It's been a better day than most. Plus it's also one day closer to his release whenever that will be. One less day until he's reunited with Gemma.


	8. Chapter 8: Discoveries

Chapter 8

Discoveries

The next day Richard finds himself in Doc's medical room. He sits on the medical table and Doc's medical team gets right to work on him. They remove his prison jumper, less clothing in the way. Immediately they get out their medical instruments and tools and start to examine Richard. Everything is recorded on a clipboard and paper. Richard sits still for them and let them poke and prod him with their medical instruments. All the tools feel cold and hard against his skin. The stethoscope slides under his shirt, leaving a cold patch of skin behind.

"Breathe in steadily now," one of the assistants asks him. Richard obeys the command and starts to breathe in deeply, his chest rising and falling steadily.

They check everything else just like Doc did the day before only this time everything is recorded. Reflexes, sensitivity to light and sound, heart rate, blood pressure and everything else in between. Not one patch of skin is left unchecked. Doc's team is very thorough in their research.

They stand back from him and ask him many questions. Everything he says is recorded. When did you first notice this? What were you doing at this time? Do you feel different since this happened to you? He answers to the best of his ability and truthfully. He wants to be healed doesn't he?

"If you could take your shirt off and demonstrate this… gift for us, that would be great," one of the assistants orders

"Sure," Richard answers and pulls off his shirt. "What do you want me to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," he says with a shrug. "I can do a lot of things. Do you want something specific?"

"Just show us what you got, kid."

With all eyes on him, Richard makes his skin mimic the sun penetrating the waves. His skin turns to a shade of blue and ripples as if the water currents affect his skin. Some of his skin sparkles as if reflecting the sun's beams. The medical team stares at his skin, dumbfounded of what to make of this condition. He makes the ocean on his skin disappear within the blink of an eye. "Is that what you wanted?" he asks.

The medical team moves back and begins to examine his skin close up. Richard ignores the cold and latex covered hands as they circle his skin repeatedly. He sees Doc standing apart from the crowd, keeping his hands tucked under his arms. There's something odd about Doc right now, Richard notices. There's something in his eyes that makes Richard think twice about him. Maybe he's just stressed out about Richard's condition. Anyone would be. How do make someone's skin stop changing colour?

The medical team moves on and starts to take samples of skin to study under a microscope. They also take a small sample of blood in a vial. After a few more tests and poking and prodding, the medical finishes their preliminary examinations and allow him to leave. Richard can't wait to leave and pulls on his undershirt and zips up his prison jumper.

When he leaves, he feels a little weird, like he's an experiment to those medical people. And this is supposed to help him, not hinder him further, as Doc would say. He has the next little while all to himself. The only good thing that this Dark Gift, as it is known, has given him is a reason to not go out panning in the morning. Peter and Eli would always grumble out that, how Richard is being treated well and doesn't have to pan. Richard would only smile and say nothing, knowing he'd rather have this Gift than go out panning. Nothing is worse than panning.

Lunch comes quickly and soon the first level is filled with young boys and teens, all eager for a good lunch meal and a little rest for afternoon panning. Richard walks down the set of stairs and joins his two roommates at their appropriate table spot.

"How was panning?" he asks casually and slides down on the bench next to Peter.

"Terrible," he answers. "As usual. How was the medical examination?"

"Cold," he answers. "All of their instruments were steel and cold and their hands were touching me all over." Richard shudders. "I was glad when I left that place."

"Not as glad as skipping out on panning," Eli comments. "I wonder if anyone else can do what you do."

"What do you mean?"

"You know," he says and takes a bite out of the tuna fish sandwich. "Is there anyone else out there, in the prison or in the ocean, that can do what you can do? You know, change your skin."

"I doubt it," Richard says. "This will probably go away once Doc finds a cure. You'll never see it again."

"Awwww," Eli whines. "Your Gift is awesome. It's so entertaining."

Richard laughs a little. "Well, I'm so sorry that I'm ruining your fun but I just want this to go away."

That ends the conversation on Richard's Gift and the boys continue to eat in silence. Peter and Eli both wander off to get a little rest for going out again. Richard drops his hands into his lap and looks around to see if anyone is looking at him. Most of the boys have disappeared into their cells and the remaining boys don't pay any attention to him. He carefully pushes up one of his sleeves and watches as dark spirals bloom across the underside of his forearm. They spread out like an infection and continue to fatten and grow until his arm is completely covered in a dark tattoo, as dark as ink. Eli is right. It is entertaining and it will certainly give him something to do on the weekends. And it'll occupy his time greatly and make the days go by faster.

After considering all of that, does he really want this Gift to go away? Maybe he can ask Doc to wait to heal him until he's about to be released. That seems like the best idea.

* * *

><p>Back out in the ocean, Richard bends at his waist and jams the shovel in the muck. He lifts up a scoop of muck and dumps it into the sifter. He rocks the sifter back and forth through the water and takes the several pearls that are left behind. He stuffs them into the bag and goes back to his shovel.<p>

Panning has certainly made Richard stronger. His endurance has also increased dramatically. His back no longer troubles him as much as it used to. He can pan longer now without pain shooting down his back and causing him to take a small break. But these small superficial facts are now what occupied Richard's mind. His mind is far away from the prison, far away from the muck pit, but not far away enough to solve any of his problems. No, his mind is stuck on the day he was arrested. No matter what he does he can't stop thinking about it.

It was the worst day of his life. He and Gemma had just stepped out of one of the quality time rooms when they knew the hallway was deserted. Only this time it wasn't. Ms. Spinner stood there with her arms crossed and a foot tapping the floor impatiently. _Tap, tap, tap. _A police officer stood beside her with both hands gripping his belt. The officer's face was unreadable but Richard knew this wasn't going to end well.

Gemma stuck by his side, like the strong little girl she was and still is hopefully. By that time Richard's heart was thumping against his ribcage, as if it would burst free from his chest. He swallowed his fear and looked up at Ms. Spinner, who pointed at him and ranted on and on about 'what a bad boy he's been and should be punished for all of his deeds'. Her words, not his. She went on and on about what Richard has done. Everything. Every. Little. Thing. He. Did. And some of them couldn't even be considered illegal. The officer wrote all of this down in short notes on his notepad. The only thing he was interested in was when Ms. Spinner brought up the topic of using the quality time rooms during off hours. That sealed the deal.

The officer gripped Richard's arm with an iron grip and began to pull him down the hallway towards the exit. Gemma held onto his other arm and tried to convince the officer that he didn't do anything wrong. Which was true. He was only looking after his sister. Why is that considered a crime?

The officer explained to Gemma very carefully and with small words so that she could understand. Richard remembers that he rolled his eyes when he heard the man talk to his sister. She wasn't stupid. She knew what Richard did. The man continued to explain that what Richard did was very wrong. Space was precious Topside. Everyone was allowed to have a certain amount of space. Everything was practically measured out and dealt out fairly so everything was properly used up. The officer said that Richard wasn't allowed to go into the quality time rooms. He didn't have the money to pay for the time so of course he had to be punished for it.

Once Gemma nodded, showing that she understood, the officer proceeded into leading Richard out of the boarding home and probably to his cruiser waiting outside. He looked back at Gemma once more before he would lose sight of her for probably who knows how long. She looked small, standing alone in the hallway with Ms. Spinner standing behind her with a defiant smirk on her face. Of course she was happy. Repeatedly she said the Richard was a thorn left in her side and now it was removed, leaving Ms. Spinner happy and stress free.

The look on Gemma's face was burned into his memory. She looked so disappointed in him, like all of the sudden this happened and she expected him to do something to prevent it and make everything go back to normal. He let her down. He was supposed to protect her and make her grow up straight, like his parents would want. And how he's hear, panning for black pearls. He let Gemma down and that fact ate him up every day he spends away from her.

The voice speaking in his helmet shakes him out of his thoughts. It's time to go back into the prison. He wades his way carefully to the bottom of the moon pool and kicks his way up to the surface. He hauls himself onto a bench to rest as soon as he's out of the water. He pulls off his helmet and inhales deeply to let the Liquigen evaporate. It does quickly and he grabs his prison jumper from his locker and moves off to the medical showers.

Eli looks down at his hands which are puffy and blistered still. "Are your hands hurting?" Richard asks as he passes by him.

"Just a little," Eli answers. "I don't think the dive gloves I have are exactly protecting my hands though."

"Talk to the guards," he suggests. "They could probably fix that up for you."

Eli nods and takes his stuff out of the locker and follows Richard to the medical showers. A pair of dive boots is left in the aisle running alongside the showers. Richard steps carefully over them, making his way down the line aisle. Eli is not as graceful. He trips on boots and reaches out to steady himself. He grabs onto one of the walls separating two showers. What feels like a soft spark shocks his hand as he places it against a control panel on the wall. The lights instantly go dead in the hallway and the showers stop. The lights continue to go out all through the prison. The only lights that are left on are emergency lights, which cast a soft orange glow on the walls.

Richard whips around to see what the problem is. He sees Eli's huddled figure on the ground. The small boy sits against the wall cradling his injured hands. He bends down beside his cellmate. "You alright?" he asks.

"Fine," he answers with a nod of his head. His hands are wet and slick with blood. "The blisters popped though." Richard carefully examines his hands and winces at the sight of them. He remembers what his hands were like back when he first started panning. Blistered and sore for days on end. But Eli has been here for a long time already. Perhaps the dive gloves he does use aren't helping him any.

The guards eventually fix the problem, whatever it was, and the lights and everything else turns back on. A light bloody handprint is left on the wall. Two guards make their way down the aisle and come to Richard and Eli. He helps his smaller cellmate stand up.

"The source of the electrical shortage came from here," the guard explains and examines the bloody handprint. "What happened here?" he asks.

"I don't know, sirs," Richard answers. "The lights just went dim."

"Not you," the other guard snaps. He looks in Eli's direction. "What happened?"

"I-I- I tripped," he stammers and then points to the dive boots. "I reached out to steady myself. I touched the panel there to keep myself from falling and then all of the sudden the lights went out. I don't know if I touched anything to do that but it just happened."

"That panel can't do anything like that," the guard says tartly. He looks down at Eli's bloody hands. "Best see Doc about those. Come on, kid."

Eli looks back at Richard. He nods and Eli follows the guard back down the aisle.

* * *

><p>Back in the cell before dinner, Eli steps into the cell with the worst of his wounds cleaned. He has a look of deep thought on his face and doesn't look as jolly and full of life as he usually does.<p>

"Took you long enough," Richard says, noting that it's been an hour since they got in from panning. Even Peter wondered what was taking him so long. "Something the matter?" he adds after Eli doesn't respond.

"I don't know," he says. "I think I have something like you."

"What do you mean?" Richard asks.

"Doc says I have what you have. A Dark Gift."


	9. Chapter 9: Dark Gift

Chapter Nine

Dark Gift

The term 'Dark Gift' spreads quickly through Seablite. First Richard and his skin, then Eli and his ability to meddle with anything electrical. He says the Doc called it 'electromagnetic pulse.' They aren't the only ones who are starting to display these Dark Gifts. Other inmates in other cells also start to notice strange things happening to their bodies as well. The chatter at meal times quickly turns to talking about their own Dark Gifts. Richard thinks that it is interesting to see what happens to people when spending time in an underwater prison. He can't shake the feeling that something is deeply wrong about this. They shouldn't be having these Gifts. It's unnatural. Whenever he meets up with Doc, he explains the situation and Doc assures him that he is doing everything he can to figure out a cure for the problem. Of course it has been several months since Doc said that to Richard.

It's now month sixteen in Seablite. His mind is now dull and empty. He's thought of everything possible to keep himself entertained. Reliving past memories, thinking of old TV shows, and other entertaining things that live only in his mind. Once he ran out of memories, he didn't know what to do. Now Richard uses his Gift to entertain himself, something he never though he'd do. He can practically do anything with his skin. He can change it into any colour he wants, any pattern, anything artistic and colourful. There are no limitations to what he can do, other than turning transparent.

Peter finally started to display a tendency of a Gift after their one year anniversary in this prison. Richard can't really describe it but whenever Peter concentrates on a person really hard, they go glassy eyed and become absolutely still, like a statue. It's like the person is in a trance. Then Peter can talk to them and they soak up every single word he spouts. They repeat his words and then the trance ends. The thing that creeps Richard out the most is when Peter gives that person a task to do, and they do it right away! He doesn't know what to call Peter's Gift so he says it's like mind control. He's been wary of the blonde boy ever since he discovered that Gift

It is a normal Sunday dinner when a new batch of inmates arrives. Richard turns his attention to the line of boys dressed in orange, slogging their way to their respective cells. They are locked up in their cells as what Richard refers to as 'the waiting game'. The waiting game is pretty much to see who breaks down first. Usually it's a small and weak kid who breaks down crying out for their non-existent parents (all the inmates so far have been orphans). The waiting game is also for the new inmates to get used to the cells they will be living in until they are released and so far no one has been released yet.

After fifteen minutes of the waiting game, the guards release the new prisoners and direct them to the cafeteria on the first level of the prison. Two new inmates find their way to Richard's table. Each table serves as a seating for two cells. Eli slides over to the other side of the table and allows the two new inmates to sit on the other side of the bench and adjust to life in Seablite.

The first boy is young, say eleven. He's also meaty looking, like he'll become an ox-like man when he's older. But for now he'll have to stay the same short and stocky boy he is right now. The other boy is probably near Richard's age, a quiet boy and thin looking as well. He continually glances at all the others, like they might be plotting against him.

"The name's Richard," he says and rests his arms on the table. "Welcome to Seablite, I guess."

"Thanks," the stocky boy answers. The quiet one doesn't say anything. "I'm Henry," he says and points to the quiet boy at the other end of the table, "and that's Matt."

Richard nods. "This is Eli and Peter," he says and gestures to his cellmates. "We live in the cell next to you guys."

"What is this place like?" Henry questions.

"It's alright," he answers with a shrug. "Lots of physical activity to keep you busy," he adds and receives of pair of smirks from Eli and Peter.

"You'll find out tomorrow, kid," Eli says. "Just focus on getting a good night's rest. That's the only way you'll be able to prepare."

Henry seems to understand and takes the advice to heart. Matt doesn't seem to acknowledge the other boys' presence and continues to eat in silence.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the guards have something else in mind for Richard. He strolls out of his cell and is confronted by one of the guards. "No pannin' for you today," he says. "Doc wants to see you once the others have left.<p>

"Okay… sir," he adds and walks down to the first level for some breakfast.

He sits down at the table with his usual meal of cold cereal.

"What's panning?" Henry asks. "The guards have been saying that's what we do here."

"You stand knee deep in black ooze, digging for pearls," Peter explains and pulls back the long blonde hair with an elastic. That boy insists on keeping his hair long. Richard stopped trying to convince him to cut it months ago when he realized that Peter had his mind set.

"It's not as dreaded as this joker makes it," Eli says. "I make a game out of it. See how many pearls I can find in one sifting."

"What's a sifting?" Henry asks.

"They'll explain to you when we leave," Richard says and turns to his cellmates. "You guys can make sure they gear up properly right? And that they do their jobs properly?" They both nod.

"Why can't you?" Peter asks.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Doc's checkups and all that kind of stuff."

"He favours you," Eli mumbles into his food.

Richard rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well it gets me out of panning for a day so enjoy your time in the muck pits."

The inmates make their way to the gear room to prepare for panning. Richard waits in his cell alone for a guard to arrive and take him to Doc. The orange mass slowly walks off and the chatter eventually ceases. The inmates are all out in the open ocean now. As he expects, a single guard arrives and leads Richard away to the same examination room with Doc's medical team already assembled.

Doc comes up and greets him kindly. "Hello, Richard," he offers with a warm smile.

"Hey, Doc. What's lined up for today's visit?"

"Oh, pretty much the usual," he answers and gestures Richard to sit on the medical table. "Just some tests, oh, and this new test which I hope will help us to determine the cause of your Gift."

"Really?" he asks. "Have you found a cure?"

"First we have to understand how this problem came to be. So, after the first few tests, you'll be put into a deep sleep so we can monitor your brain activities when you are in a deep sleep. We hope that sleep will helps us pinpoint where this Gift starts in the brain. Once that is discovered, we can move on to finding a cure."

"So I just go to sleep for a while and that's it?

"That's it."

"Simple enough."

Richard slips out of the orange prison jumper and pulls off the undershirt as well, leaving himself in the white shorts. The medical team closes in quickly and begins their usual routine. They record his pulse, check his reflexes, his breathing, his eyes' reaction to light, and everything in between. Once that is all in order, one of the members of the team brings for an IV tube and bag. Richard winces as the tube is injected onto the top of his hand, right into a vein.

He lies down on the medical bed at their orders. The cold steel makes it uncomfortable to lie on and makes him cold right away. The team pulls on face masks that cover their noses and mouths. They pull on rubber gloves as well.

"Alright, Richard," he hears Doc from his side. "Just relax on the table and soon this will all be over." Two hands grip the sides of his head gently. A gas mask slowly hovers over his head as he squints against the harsh bright light that shines down upon him. The gas mask is pressed down over his mouth and noise. Doc instructs him to take in deep breaths and soon he'll be asleep. He takes in several deep breaths and nearly coughs from the foul smelling gas. His eyes eventually begin to droop and soon they are closed in a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>He flexes his fingers first then wiggles his toes. He begins to stretch out his long limbs out on the bed he is lying on. He collapses back onto the mattress and waits until he's a little bit stronger to move anymore. He tries again and stretches out his rubbery arms and legs. Once he's sure he can sit up without overtaxing himself, he does.<p>

Richard looks around the strange settings of this new room. It has a hospital like feel to it. Several beds line both sides of the wall and everything is quiet for the patient- or patients- to rest in peace and quiet. He finds the IV tube still hooked up to his hand. The liquid methodically drips down into the tube.

A sharp pain from his head blinds him with stars and black spots. He lies back down on the bed and waits for the pain to pass. He's not quite sure if this is an after effect from the gas. He brings his hands up to his head. His palm brushes against something that definitely doesn't feel like hair. His blood turns ice cold. He holds his breath and gently brushes his fingertips against the non-hair substance on his head. The surface is rough for the most part. On the edges he feels a soft cotton substance as well as the plastic from surgical tape. A bandage. Did he fall off the medical table during the test? No, it is more than that. He feels bare skin, just a little bit of it, surrounding the edge of the bandage. Someone had shaved his hair away.

He slowly slips off the bed and pulls the IV tube off of his hand. He finds himself dressed in a thin t-shirt and drawstring pants. His bare feet tread along the cold ground to a bathroom on the other side of the room. He flicks on the light switch and stands in front of the mirror. To his horror, he sees a large square bandage covering some sort of wound. A dark brown stain shows clearly from the bandage, dried blood.

His fingers tremble as he grasps the edge of the bandage and slowly begins to peel away the cloth, even though he knows that this is not a good idea. He winces as the bandage is peeled off, revealing the perimeter of bloody and black stitches, forming a rectangle.

The dirty bandage floats to the ground as Richard inspects the mutilation to his skin. The blood surrounding the stitches is gooey and in a few places is dark and dried up. Whatever happened to him didn't happen too long ago. He supposes that whatever happened in the examination room went along something like this: that test that Doc explained to him earlier was really a surgery in disguise. The surgery was to get inside his brain and see if they were scrambled or not. After they saw what they wanted, they stitched up his skull and sent him into the small hospital room to rest. They had used him to get their answers.

"Richard?" a voice calls out. "Where are you?" He quickly readjusts the bandage and peeks out of the bathroom where he spots Doc near the entrance of the room. "Oh, there you are." He sounds relived.

Richard slowly walks out of the bathroom and keep s afar amount of distance between him and the man whom he though was supposed to help him. "What did you do to me?" he asks quietly and points to the grotesque wound on his head.

"It was all part of the test," Doc answers calmly and without sympathy.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?" he roars again. The pain of being betrayed is all too much or him. He feels himself quivering and trembling. Just saying those words is hard enough on him. "You cut me open like some animal! You said you would help me! How is this helping me?"

"We have to understand what it is first," he says simply and strides towards the inmate. Richard backs up against the wall and does his best to stare down the doctor. "With understanding, we will be able to figure out what to do. But we need to do more tests first. Nothing like this has ever been documented in the history of the world."

"And this is your solution? By cutting me open? I expected you to help me and this is how you do it?"

"Yes."

Richard throws up his hands in exasperation. "I didn't want this. I expected you to come up with some sort of medication that I could take and this would all be over."

"You have no control over what I can and cannot do." Doc paces back and forth along the length of the room. Richard sits down nervously on one of the beds, finding that he could no longer stand without shaking. "When I was put in charge of the inmates' and guards' health of this prison, I took that very seriously. When you started to display these talents, I had to find out what it was that was causing this abnormality. My first guess is the water pressure on young minds. It affects the brains and causes them to become more active in areas where normal people don't experience activity."

"And your solution is to cut into my brain?" he retorts. "What kind of monster are you?"

"I'm a doctor, not a monster. I'm just trying to find answers. This whole undersea colonizing needs to be researched and studied so that we can understand what water pressure does to people for long periods of time."

"So you cut me open?" he says breathlessly. "There is no cure is there?"

"Not that I know of but the information we have learned from you will help us greatly."

"I'm just an experiment to you aren't I?" he asks and sidesteps his way towards the door, towards the safety of his cell. "You just wanted to cut me open."

"Don't say it like that," Doc says and watches Richard fumble for the door.

"You aren't denying it." He grips the door handle and begins to leave the infirmary. A guard stands at the ready with Richard's clothes and shoes in his arms. Richard stays clear of the guard as he leads him back into his cell and hands him the bundle of the clothing. The cell door slides shut.

Peter and Eli book look at Richard. They both are shocked to see Richard just standing there with a slight lost look on his face. Usually he is the strong one here but now he looks defeated and very tired. He doesn't look at them but disappears into the small bathroom to change back into his prison jumper.

When he returns, Peter asks, "Where have you been? You've been gone two days."

Richard raises his gaze and turns his head slightly for the two younger boys to see the bandage covering a particularly gruesome wound on his head. Richard doesn't know what to say to them. He opens his mouth but the words are stuck.

"What did they do?" Eli asks softly, his voice cracks under the fear.

Richard tries to speak again. "They cut me open. Because of the Dark Gift."

Both of the boys pale significantly. Both of them have Dark Gifts as do most of the inmates in Seablite. If Richard was operated on because of his Dark Gift, that isn't good for the rest of the inmates. Anyone of them could be next.


	10. Chapter 10: Spades

Chapter Ten

Spades

Richard is having a good time out in the ocean today, panning for black pearls. He actually enjoys it for once. It gets him out of the prison and away from the clutches of Doc and his medical team. He never has forgiven the doctor for what he did to him all those months ago. He feels betrayed. He feels _worthless. _He's an orphan and a nobody in a prison full of nobodies. It doesn't matter what he wants, or says, or thinks. He's just a psycho that needs to be _rehabilitated._

Life in the prison has been on a downward spiral ever since his surgery several months ago. Peter and Eli were scared that they might be next. Soon enough one of the other boys was next to skip out on panning one day and wasn't seen for another few days. A week or two later another boy would disappear and then reappear with a scar to show for it.

Richard rocks the shifter back and forth and uncovers several black pearls and a rather odd looking object. Looking from side to side, he notices that the guards out today are rather slack about their work today. Probably because they realize that the inmates' spirits are broken and they won't try anything stupid.

He pauses in his work and picks up the object he discovered in the shifter. It is a knife. An emerald knife to be more precise. It is a short knife, the kind someone could use to cut fish. The blade is thin and yet so sharp looking. He stuffs the weapon into the sack filled with black pearls, meaning to sneak it into his cell. Once that is complete, he continues to dull pattern of panning once again.

* * *

><p>He is summoned to Doc's office as soon as he breaches the moon pool. The guard gives him a few minutes to get showered and dressed up for his meeting with the Doc. He carefully wraps up the emerald knife in towel and hides it at the bottom of his locker, underneath his dive gear. He does what he's instructed to do and makes his way to Doc's office. Hopefully this time he will be leaving awake.<p>

"Hello, Richard," Doc says in an eerily calm tone. Richard says nothing and just stands there until he's told to do something. "And how are you doing?"

"Well enough," he answers gruffly and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Good. Well, enough talk, please follow me into the next room." Doc leads Richard into a darkened room with a short, dark tunnel in the center of the room. A narrow looking bed sticks out beyond the tunnel. "If you could lie down on the bed, we could get this started and you can be on your way to dinner." Richard obeys and goes to lie down on the bed. He gets into a comfortable position and waits silently.

Doc appears above him and starts to apply these white circles on his body. Richard unzips his prison jumpers and eases off the t-shirt underneath, like it's all routine. He lies still and allows Doc to apply the electrodes to his body. Two are on his chest and another two are on his temples. Doc pushes a button and the bed slides into the narrow tunnel.

His eyes adjust to the darkness and he waits for all of this to be over. This is just another one of Doc's tests. Something he isn't too excited about.

Doc's voice crackles over a signal that is broadcasted in the tunnel. "This is an MRI scanner. I'll be looking at activity in the brain when you display your Gift and when you don't. Just lie still and don't do anything. This won't hurt a bit."

Richard does what he's told and lies still, doing absolutely nothing. A red light appeared and began to scan up and down his body. He closes his eyes from the harsh light and waits for this to be over.

A few minutes later and Doc's voice came up again. "This time I want you to display your Gift. Keep going until I say stop."

Richard sighs. He makes a black snake appear on his chest and begins to let it move at random. No specific pattern just wherever the snake wants to go. The red light appears again and begins to scan his body. He closes his eyes. Soon this will all be over.

"Okay, Richard," the doctor says. "That's all I need from you today." The bed automatically begins to move out of the tunnel. Soon Richard is able to sit up and yank off the electrodes. He does so roughly and puts his clothes back on. He leaves the room quickly, eager to get out of the darkness and as far away from Doc as possible.

There's still an hour until dinner time. He walks into his cell and into the bathroom. As usual he runs his hand over the place where the scar is. He can feel the raised skin underneath his hair. A permanent souvenir from Seablite. Something that marks him as a freak.

Dinner rolls around and he is slow to make his way to the line to collect his tray. Nothing exciting ever happens anymore. The conversations are quieter. They often look over their shoulders at the guards, wondering if they are to be next.

Richard finally slumps down onto the bench and focuses on his meal. Food is one of the things that keep him going. At least he still gets a good meal every day.

"Where's Peter?" he hears Henry ask.

"Don't know," Eli answers. "The guards took him away 'bout an hour ago. I suspect he should be back soon."

"What if they took him?" Matt asks quickly.

"The guards?" Richard asks then shakes his head. "They always take them after or before lunch. It's probably just a checkup." He hopes that it's a checkup. He doesn't want either of his cellmates to be placed on the medical bed.

Eli takes his empty tray back to the line. Richard notices a new group of inmates being led into the cafeteria. It's a small group of five boys, racking the total number of prisoners to around forty. It's been Richard's second year in Seablite and so far and it's been a boring two years. Inmates come in but they never leave. They eventually get a Dark Gift and soon they are operated on and tested until the day they leave, and who knows when that will be.

Eli returns with another inmate walking beside him. "-and this is where our table is. That's Henry and Matt, they're in cell two. And that's Richard. We stay in cell one. There's another cellmate as well that lives with us but he's not here right now. His name is Peter but don't try and call him anything but Peter. He doesn't like it. Sit on either side of the table," he says and slides down beside Richard. "It doesn't really matter."

Richard continues to enjoy his meal in peace. The new inmate sits down across from him. "Guys," Eli announces, "this is, um, I never did catch your name. He's in our cell, Richard."

He nods and looks up from his tray and takes a gulp from his whale milk box. He is shocked by the appearance of the new inmate that he coughs and sputters on the milk.

"Don't die now, Richard," Henry says.

He nods and coughs the remaining milk out of his lungs. Not even a flicker of amusement shows upon the inmate's face. He just sits there, fiddling with his utensils.

The boy is around Richard's age, sixteen. His inky black hair falls to his eyes. The thing that shocks Richard the most is the piercings the boy has. He has two lip rings on the corners of his lower lip. Three more earrings are pierced on the cartilage part of his left ear. His other ear as only one piercing on the lobe. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, exposing a tattoo of a game card, an ace of spades. How the boy got the piercings and tattoo, Richard will probably never find out.

"What's your name?" he asks the boy after the coughing passes. The boy remains quiet and looks down at his arm. Richard follows his gaze to the tattoo. "Is it 'Ace'?" Again the boy stays quiet and pushes the food around with his fork. Richard looks to Eli for help. He doesn't offer any and just shrugs his shoulders. "Would you like to be called 'Ace'?" The boy looks up at Richard and nods ever so slightly. "Ace it is."

* * *

><p>"Have you been to the cell yet?" Richard asks the new cellmate as they step in. Ace nods. "Well the only bed left is the one under mine. Is that alright with you?" Again he nods and sits down on the bed with his hands folded.<p>

Ace is very quiet. He doesn't say a word during the whole night and keeps to himself. Richard can understand why. It's scary the first night someone stays here. He remembers his first night all too well. The inability to sleep because of the creaking prison, the fear of the unknown for what might happen tomorrow. But Ace looks like a strong one. He should be able to do well here.

Peter returns finally but it seems as if he's in shock. Richard sees why. They cut his hair away, making it short against his head. "They cut your hair," he says.

"You think?" he says, his voice quivering. "I'm going to be next."

"Did they tell you that?" Eli asks.

He shakes his head. "But why would they cut my hair now? I'm probably going to be gone tomorrow."

Richard leaves Peter alone, knowing that it isn't the boy's style to be comforted. He's better off on his own and dealing with his own problems.

The inmates in cell one settled down for the night. Eli is the first to fall asleep. Peter takes a little while longer but soon he is resting easy. Richard, as usual, can't sleep and stares up at the ceiling, waiting for the moment when everyone is asleep and he can do what he normally does at night, sit-ups and push-ups. He no longer takes the sleeping medication Doc gave him. A few days after his surgery, he got rid of the medication, no longer trusting anything that he got from Doc.

The inmate underneath him doesn't sleep well either. Richard sees his feet still planted on the floor. He hasn't yet moved from his position. That means he'll have to wait until Ace is asleep. Then he'll be able to fall into his usual nightly routine.

Eventually Ace moves his feet up onto his bed and goes still. Richard drops down to the ground and begins a series of push-ups. Half way through the set he hears a voice. "What did Peter mean by 'he's next'?" he heard Ace whisper.

"So you do talk," Richard says and continued his set.

"Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I don't talk. Do you always do this at night?"

"Pretty much," he answers as he lifts himself off the ground again.

"So?" he questions, "what did Peter mean?"

"I don't think I should tell you," Richard says truthfully.

"Why not?"

He grunts and lifts himself off the ground. "Do you really want to know what type of prison this is?"

"Yes."

Richard stops and stands up, stretching his sore muscles. He steps towards the cell bars that keep him in the cell. "After a few months, you'll start to notice something happening to your body. I was the first to find out that I had a Dark Gift."

"And what's that?" Ace asks quietly behind him.

"This," he answers and pushes up his sleeves to expose bare skin. He makes the black snake appear on his skin and makes whirl on one arm to the next. Ace doesn't say anything, but just looks at the snake with mild fascination. "It comes in different forms though," he explains and slides down against the wall. "Eli has what they call electromagnetic pulse. Anything electrical he touches will short circuit. Peter can hypnotize people so watch out for him. Henry in cell two is starting to show something as well. Not sure about Matt though."

"Does this happen to everyone here?"

"Just the inmates. It's because our brains aren't fully developed. So if you start to display something out of the ordinary then keep it to yourself for as long as you can. It'll save you in the long run."

"What if the guards find out about it?" he asks. "What do I do then?"

"There's nothing you can do," Richard says simply. "They'll find out about it. They always do. They'll take you to see Doc. His medical team will take a look at you and then decide the day when you'll be cut open."

That grabs Ace's attention quickly. His dark eyes look up at Richard. "They operate on the inmates?"

Richard nods and rubs the scar on his head. "I was the first one. They act so nice about it and then they go ahead and cut you open. Peter thinks he's next because they cut his hair away without his consent. Get used to your life here, Ace. They control everything."

"I'm sure I'll be able to make it fairly well here," he says. "Thanks for the information."

"What can I say, the inmates look after each other here. We haven't got anyone but each other."


	11. Chapter 11: Friends

Chapter Eleven

Friends

Richard debriefs Ace on the functions of the Seablite. He explains, in detail, what panning is and how difficult it is for the first time. He explains what the hole is and what a terrible place it is. Ace takes all the information in and doesn't ask too many questions. Richard thinks it's because he's still in shock from learning about Dark Gifts and what Doc does to the inmates here.

When it's time to start panning, he leads Ace to the dive room and begins to explain the gear and the proper use of Liquigen.

"You have to inhale all the way," he says as Ace looks at the green packet with interest. "Otherwise your lungs won't be fully covered and they'll be crushed by the water pressure."

"Wonderful," he says and slips the green packet into his helmet. "Does this happen everyday?"

Richard nods and tugs on his dive boots. "We go until lunch, have a break, and go back out again for a couple hours. Five days a week until you're released."

"And who knows when that will be," Ace says miserably. "Has anyone been released yet?"

"No," he answers and pulls on his gloves. "Not yet. I doubt anyone will be released until they turn twenty-one. Which means we have a lot of time to spend in here."

Richard closes his locker door and takes his helmet to the moon pool where he waits alongside the others. Ace looks at him questioningly as he steps beside him. The guards walk up and begin the long process of locking leg shackles around each of the inmates' ankles. Ace frowns when they're locked around his. He tugs on them. Richard only smiles. "There's no getting out of them."

"Just testing," he says.

"Aren't you going to take out those earrings of yours?"

Ace shakes his head. "I'll lose them if I do." He pulls on his helmet and inhales the Liquigen deeply. Richard watches him as he jumps into the moon pool with the others. He's about to follow them when he notices Peter off to his right. Two guards are walking towards them.

"You," one says. "Come with us."

Richards watches helplessly as his friend is confronted by the guards. Colour drains from Peter's face. So there is a reason to cutting Peter's hair. It's his turn to be subjected to the scalpel. He can't let this happen. He shuffles over to Peter and shoves back a guard with force. "Leave him be," he says as strongly as he can.

"Get back in line, you sea scum," one of the guards says and shoves him away.

"Don't touch him," Richard growls. Peter gives him a gratefully look, knowing that his cellmate just bought him a few minutes.

"You got pannin' to do, boy. Or would you like to spend a week in the hole."

Richards takes a moment to look back at Peter. The blonde bows his head in submission and moves off to change back into his prison jumper. He simply gave up.

Realizing that there is nothing he can do, Richard pulls on his helmet and jumps into the moon pool. He floats down to the murky bottom and wades off to an empty sifter. Eli is set up beside him and signs to him quickly, _Where's Peter?_

_Doc got to him, _he signs back and picks up a shovel. _He'll be gone for a few days._

Eli drops his hands to his side. He picks up his shovel and sets off to scoop up another shovelful of muck. Richard does the same and repeats the tedious task he's been doing for the past two years. His thoughts drift as he works. Peter will never be the same. The inmates never are when they return from the infirmary. Even Richard feels different. He feels less cheerful and more broken. It's no use to resist Doc and his medical team. In the end they get what they want. They always do.

Break comes and goes and at the lunch table, all are quiet. One spot remains open for Peter, who won't return for a few days. Richard rubs his hand over his scar and sighs. What could they be doing to Peter in that room? How is holding up? He knew Doc would never kill one of the inmates here. They're too valuable to him. All the information he can learn from them. No, Doc will keep them all alive for as long as he keeps them. They all know there's no escape from Seablite, not ever.

They return back to the muck pits and pan for black pearls until their backs are sore and their hands red and raw from the shovel. It's an unusually tough day for the inmates. After working the muck pits for weeks and months, they are usually chipper about the work day ending so they can catch up on some rest before dinner. Today their spirits are broken and what remained of the happy young boys is replaced by bitter souls and hardened young men who are much changed from when they entered Seablite.

Richard works hard that night, trying to get his mind off of Peter and back onto the strenuous push-ups and sit-ups. He thinks about Gemma instead. He's missing out on much of her life. What will she be like when he gets out? Will she still be the same optimistic, little girl he knows of, or will she be grown up and serious, having no remnants of childhood left in her like him? It's always the questions that run through his mind. There are never any answers. There are no answers in this place. There never will be.

* * *

><p>Two days pass when Peter is led back to his cell. The inmates of cell one are preparing for night when the blonde walks into the cell, eyes downcast on the floor. The cell door slides shut behind him, making him flinch. Richard steps down from his top bunk and faces him. Peter doesn't smile. He doesn't say anything and sits down on his bed. With no long hair in their way, they all see the white gauzes taped to his neck, protecting a very long scar that stretches from his collarbone all the way behind his ear.<p>

"Are you okay, Peter?" Eli asks softly.

Peter thinks about it for a moment. He shakes his head. Tears well up in the corners of his eyes. He's absolutely terrified. "It was awful," he breathes. "I… I feel… sick." He gags twice and stumbles off into the bathroom to empty his stomach of what little lies inside it.

Richard leans against the wall near the bathroom entrance as he listens to his friend's retches and sobs. He didn't think Peter would react like this, but everyone does react to the same situation differently. Richard thinks it reminds the poor boy of the drunken uncle that took care of him. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Peter was probably slapped around a bit.

"He's having a panic attack," Ace says and moves to the bathroom to help him out.

"What does that mean?" Richard asks and watches Ace move to Peter's side.

"When someone suffers from a panic attack, it means that they are so afraid of something and that fear becomes disabling." Ace grips Peter gently by the back of his neck and pushes his head downwards, towards his knees. "Breathe deeply, okay? Relax and take in deep breaths." The shaking in Peter's thin frame begins to subside. He gulps in the air deeply as his breathing begins to even out and he starts to clam down. "That's better," the dark haired boy answers. "Just take it easy, Peter. Panic attacks are easy to overcome."

Peter nods and keeps his head down. "Thanks," he whispers and brings his knees up to his chest and surrounds them with shaky arms. Ace nods and comes out of the bathroom to leave him with his thoughts, giving him a moment to himself.

"Where'd you learn that?" Richard asks and walks towards the piercing clad boy.

"One of my brothers suffered from panic attacks all the time," he explains and settles down underneath his blankets for the night. "Things just stick with you, you know? Anyway, goodnight."

"Yeah, goodnight."

Richard looks into the bathroom at Peter before he also gets into bed. His head is still down on his knees. "Are you going to be okay now, Peter?"

He nods and brings his head up. "Sorry for freaking out like that," he says.

"There's no need to apologize. We can all understand why you freaked out like you did."

Peter wrings his hands together. "I just want this nightmare to end. I don't want to live another year or two in Seablite. I just can't take it anymore."

Richard kneels down beside him and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll get through this together, alright? It takes a few days to get over what happened in there but you can do it."

Peter looks up at him and sighs, putting on a mask of ice to hide his true feelings. "It's going to take time isn't it?"

He nods. "A week or two. That's when I started feeling a little bit better. But not one hundred percent fine but better than I did when I came out of the infirmary. They won't make you work tomorrow. Get some sleep, that's usually the best thing you can do."

"Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to take it." Richard helps Peter to his feet and makes sure he doesn't fall as he makes it to his bed.

"Don't fall off during the night. You don't want to hurt your stitches."

"Got it." He settles down slowly on his bed, wincing as he shifts to find a comfortable spot to sleep for the night.

Richard moves towards his bunk and jumps up to sit down on the mattress. Eli has long since fallen asleep and Ace is deep in slumber as well. He sits up on his bed, watching as Peter slowly falls asleep and grows still. Hopefully the boy won't have any nightmares. Richard knows that most inmates who have been operated on suffer from nightmares. Peter needs a few days of rest to recover. He won't be the same but he can at least be well enough to get himself through this captivity.

Once he's sure that Peter is fine on his own, Richard collapses onto his bed. For once he actually feels tired. He slowly closes his eyes and lets the welcoming darkness of sleep overcome him. Just one less day in this awful place.


	12. Chapter 12: Stitches and Burdens

Chapter Twelve

Stitches and Burdens

"Richard?"

He groans and rolls onto his side. He ignores the voice calling out for him and continues to sleep.

"Richard, wake up." The voice sounds scared and meek. "Richard, please."

He struggles against his fatigue and rolls over. He sees Peter standing by his bedside. The younger boy is clearly worried about something.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"My stitches," he says. "They ripped open."

"And that's why you woke me up?" Richard rubs the sleep from his eyes.

"You don't understand," the blond boy says. "They'll make me go back to _him. _I don't want to go back there."

"Oh." He pushes himself into a sitting position and looks towards Peter. A red stain has seeped through the bandages on his neck. "Hang on," he says and clambers down from his bed. He leads Peter into the bathroom and turns on the light.

After letting their eyes adjust to the light, Richard takes a closer look at Peter. He carefully peels back the bandages and finds that Doc's neat stiches have ripped open, letting rivulets of blood drip out.

"How did this happen exactly?" he asks and wads up some toilet paper to dab away at the blood to try and staunch the flow.

"It happened in my sleep, I think," the blonde answers. "I woke up just after they ripped. I just didn't know what to do. I didn't want to ask the guards for help."

"I think you did the right thing," Richard says quietly. He continues to wipe away the blood but to no avail does he make it stop. If Peter doesn't get the wound checked out by a professional, it could lead to an infection. Whatever way he chooses, Peter would have to visit Doc again. There is no avoiding the inevitable.

Richard tosses away the bloody wad of paper and reaches for more. He sighs, seeing that he's making absolutely no progress.

"What?" Peter says. "What is it?"

"The blood isn't stopping," he mutters. "There's nothing I can do. You have to get it checked out by Doc."

Peter's eyes widen. That's the kind of news he didn't want to hear. "No," he says while shaking his head. "I can't go back there."

"Peter, I know you're scared right now but this could get infected. And if it gets infected, that means you might be spending a lot more time with Doc. You have to go now, or tomorrow."

"Wh-what do you think I should do?"

"Do it tomorrow, first thing," he says. "Get it over sooner. You'll probably feel better when it's all stitched up again."

Peter pulls away from Richard and replaces the bandages on top of his wound. Richard washes of his hands and wipes them dry on his prison jumper. "I'm afraid that's all I can do," he says. "You have to get it looked after."

"I know," Peter whispers quietly. "I just don't want to face him again."

"It'll get easier," he says. "The whole pain and fear thing. You'll start to feel a little bit normal say after a week or two. Just get lots of rest while they keep you from panning. It makes it easier."

The younger boy nods. "It's just a waiting game from now on isn't it?" Richard nods and turns off the light. They both make it back to their beds. Peter falls asleep almost instantly. Richard takes a little bit longer as usual. He's worried about Peter. The boy is scared out of his wits. What Doc did him was pretty bad. Peter will never be the same again, that's for sure.

He rolls back onto his side and closes his eyes. Enough has happened for one day.

* * *

><p>Two months have passed since Peter's operation. The boy has changed completely. He rarely talks and his blue eyes are void of emotion and are as icy as ever. His hair reaches his eyes again. Obviously he is trying to grow it out again. Richard assumes that he'll keep it long again to hide the hideous scar that lies upon his neck.<p>

During that time, Eli has grown uncomfortable. He wonders constantly if he's going to be next as the numbers of untouched prisoners dwindles. Matt was operated on only a few weeks before. Henry is currently resting in the infirmary. Ace has not yet showed any hints of having a Dark Gift. He's safe for the next few months but soon it'll be his turn on the cold metal table.

The day comes when Eli disappears. Richard pushes down that nagging feeling that he could've done something, anything, to help his friend. He's doing the best he can. Since he was the first to discover his Gift and be operated on, he knows what to do and how to get used to the weird feeling that you aren't yourself after the operation. He knows how to deal with the nightmares one could have after such an event. He's the one that holds the prison together. The other inmates all look up at him for guidance. He knows what to do, doesn't he?

The day that Eli returns is a quiet one. He walks in slowly and looks up at his bed above Peter's. "I don't think I'll be able to get there," he says.

"What do you mean?" Richard asks.

"I'm not exactly strong enough." He smiles weakly and presses a hand against his stomach.

Richard gets his meaning, seeing as the boy is in pain. "Peter or Ace, give Eli a bed. I don't think he'll be able to climb up without hurting himself." Peter decides not to move. Ace kindly gets off his bed and lends it to Eli as he slowly make his way to the bed and sits down slowly. He lies down and swings his legs up onto the bed. He lies perfectly still on his back with his hands at his sides.

"Is it bad?" Peter asks quietly as he shifts his prison jumper to hide a larger portion of his scar.

Eli closes his eyes and nods. "They said I won't be panning for a week maybe two depending on my condition. How long have I been gone for?"

"Three days," Ace answers. "Where'd they get you?"

"Torso," he says and brings up a hand to draw a line of where the scar lies underneath. He starts just under his breastbone and goes down to just past his bellybutton. "I don't know what Doc wanted to see down there. There's nothing that'll lead him to the answer of this whole Dark Gift anomaly."

"Wow, anomaly, big word," Richard says.

"Pfft, I'm smarter than you give me credit for."

"Really?" Ace asks. "Are you sure you don't have any nodule muck in place for brains? I could've sworn that was what your brains were made of."

"Ha ha," Eli says drily. "Very funny. Just for that, I am keeping your bed for the next two days or so."

Ace pouts. "That means I'll have to use your bed, which smells like fish guts by the way."

"That's it three days."

Ace rolls his eyes and climbs up to sit on Eli's bed. He blows his hair out of his eyes and sulks. Richard smiles faintly at his friends' playful banter. It's the only way they can keep their strength up in a place like this. He notices that they're all growing up too fast. They're becoming hardened and more serious than young boys and teenagers should be. This should be the primetime of their lives and it's all washing away in the blink of any eye. They're all growing up too fast.

Richard wishes he could maintain his childish ways a little bit longer. Sure he's sixteen but this is the time for him to go out and have fun, to do reckless things with other boys his age, to watch girls as they pass by and try and get them to notice him.

First thing is that he's no longer the reckless and fun-loving boy he used to be. He's serious and tries to keep everyone together and their spirits from breaking completely. Any rebellion and recklessness left him long ago.

Second thing it's an all-male prison. There are no females. This is supposed to be the time in which he figures out how to ask a girl out and figure out what to do on a date. His father is long since dead and sadly never gave him any advice on how to get a girl to notice you. Also he expects that by the time he gets out he'll be socially awkward around everyone. The only people he has talked to are his cellmates and Doc on the rare occasion. This leaves little for practicing to talk to different people and trying to figure out what to say and what _not _to say. It's going to be difficult readjusting in society again whenever that might be.

* * *

><p>During that night, Richard wakes up to a particularly disturbing sound. It sounds as if someone is sick, due to the retching and dry heaving. He climbs down from his bed. Eli is still fast asleep on Ace's bed, breathing deeply as he lies calmly on his back. Peter is also sleeping well and doesn't seem yet to be affected by any nightmares as he usually is.<p>

He steps into the bathroom and find Ace sitting next to the toilet. The dark haired boy looks pale and sweaty, almost if he actually is sick. "You alright?" he asks and sits down across from him.

"I don't know," he says truthfully and clutches his stomach as another painful cramp surpasses him. "It might've been something I ate."

"Are you really going to believe that?" In Seablite, anything out of the normal could be interpreted differently.

"I'm trying to make myself believe it," he answers and rests the back of his head against the smooth wall behind him. "Give it a few weeks and this might turn into a Dark Gift." Ace laughs bitterly before he starts to retch again and leans over the toilet bowl.

"What did you do to get stuck in a place like this?" Richard asks as he brings his knees up to his chest.

Ace stands up to wash out his mouth from the tap before settling himself on the ground again. "Joy riding," he answers. "I hotwired a car one day and drove it down the streets."

"Really? That's pretty impressive."

Ace shrugs, like the whole things is no big deal. "It was for attention not for amusement, though," he whispers.

"Why?"

"I felt annoyed by everyone. I live in a large home. My parents died a few years ago. I just felt overlooked and never noticed. I wanted someone to pay attention to me. That was the starting of the fake IDs and piercings and tattoos. That led to the joy riding and that led to here." He smiles faintly. "If only I had acted smarter then all of this wouldn't have happened. I'm such an idiot."

"Don't say that."

"Why not?" His dark eyes shine with unshed tears. "All of this is my fault. If I had just listened to my mother and not fooled around in the backseat of that car then my dad wouldn't have been so distracted."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm the reason why my dad's car crashed. I'm the reason why they're dead." Ace rubs his eyes furiously, trying to force the tears to stop flowing. "If I had just listened to her, then they would still be here and then I wouldn't be here."

"You can't blame yourself for what happened, Ace," Richard says. "There was nothing that you did or could've done." He can clearly see that Ace is carrying a lot of burdens on his shoulders and isn't as strong as he appears. Deep down inside he's a hurt boy with a lot of guilt to bear that no one ever should.

"Easy for you to say. You weren't the one who watched them die before your very eyes. You weren't that-" Ace pauses and shudders before going back to the toilet to dry heave into it.

"I know I wasn't there, Ace. But you can't keep blaming yourself, not while you're in a place like this. You have to move one so you can survive in a place like this."

"Just leave me alone," Ace says. Richard tries to say something but harsh words stop him. "Get out, Richard! I don't need any of your advice right now."

"Fine." He gets to his feet and turns to the doorway. "But you know where I'll be when you need to talk."


	13. Chapter 13: Plans

Chapter Thirteen

Plans

A new inmate arrives during Richard's third year of being stuck in the hell known as Seablite. He's a very young boy, twelve at least, scrawny as well. The boy doesn't say much the first day he arrives, only his name, Trevor. He lives in cell two along with Henry and Matt. They fill him in on the grizzly details of what really goes on in a place like this. How they force the inmates to pan for black pearls and in return they get Dark Gifts and tested on like lab animals. Of course he asks what Dark Gifts are and everyone at the table can answer. Richard impresses the young boy with his tattoo display. Peter explains how he can hypnotize people. Eli explains his power to turn off the lights with a simply touch of his fingers. Henry says he's becoming strong like a shark and can even swim better and faster because of it. Matt says he can hold his breath for longer periods. He can hold his breath for twenty minutes now and isn't even affected by the water pressure. All of them have the scars to prove it.

"Wh-what about that other one you mentioned?" the terrified little boy asks. "I think you say his name was Ace."

"Right now he's in transition of getting one," Eli says.

"Eli means that Ace is puking up his guts in the cell right now," Richard says. "We don't know what he has but he was perfectly healthy when he first arrived. All of the sudden this came up so we're pretty sure it's a Dark Gift."

"Does it hurt when you get a Dark Gift?" Trevor asks.

Richard shakes his head. "The only part that hurts is when they cut you open," he says bitterly. "Don't worry, kid. We'll look after you."

After dinner, Henry and Matt escort their new cellmate up to cell number two. The others walk back to their own cell and to check up on the piercing clad boy. Ace is still hunched over the toilet, throwing up what little still remains in his stomach.

"Feeling any better, Ace?" Eli asks and climbs up to his bed.

All they receive is a groan and more coughing.

"There's a new boy in cell two," Richard says. "His name is Trevor. Scrawny little boy he is."

After a few more minutes of listening to poor Ace, Richard steps in to see how he is doing. "Maybe you should go see Doc," he whispers quietly.

Ace wipes off his mouth with the back of his hand. He pushes back his sweaty, black hair. "I don't want to go," he says quietly and stands up to wash his mouth out with the use of the sink tap. "I don't want him to stick me in some CT scanner. I don't want it to be a Dark Gift."

"Ace, I think you have to face the facts that it probably is a Dark Gift. It's not as scary as you think."

"I'm not scared," he says suddenly. "I'm just-"

"Confused?"

"Yeah. I don't want to have a Dark Gift but I know it's impossible to avoid."

"I know," Richard says quietly. "But in a few years we'll all be out. Once we're twenty-one they can't hold us anymore."

"Yeah, that's still another four years away, Richard," Ace says bitterly. "I don't think I'll last that long." He looks towards the entrance of the bathroom and moves to whisper something into Richard's ear. "I think we need to escape."

Richard widens his eyes in shock. Did Ace seriously just suggest that they break free of Seablite? The thing is unthinkable. There is no way out of Seablite. Even if they managed to get into the water, where would they go? Richard has no idea of where he is. He can get lost in the big, blue ocean.

He presses a finger to his lips. "Wait til everybody's asleep," he whispers back. "We'll talk about this later."

Later is when Richard has completed his workout for the night and when he's sure that everyone has turned in for the night. The night guards usually spend their time playing cards down in the cafeteria. They rarely make their rounds past the cells anymore. They know that the inmates are too tired to try and disturb the relative peace of the prison. So the guards won't be a problem for when Ace and Richard speak to one another.

The time when they do meet is probably near three or four in the morning. With Richard's inability to sleep at night, it no longer bothers him when he works. He's been here for three years now. He's perfectly fine with getting little to no sleep and then panning all day the night morning. Ace hasn't been panning for a few days now, considering that his condition renders him incapable and staying out in the water for long.

Richard sits down on the cold bathroom floor across from Ace. Ace resumes his normal position of sitting beside the toilet just in case of another round of vomiting decided to occur while they spoke.

"So you want to escape," Richard says.

Ace nods. "It's the only way out of here. I won't be able to last another four years in here. I just can't."

"Okay, I see why but how do you expect us to escape?" he asks. "Do you think that the Warden will just let us walk on out of here just like that?"

"I've thought about that," Ace says. "I have a plan. We've always thought that are Gifts were curses. They are the reasons why we are here in the first place. I say we use them against the guards, against the Warden, against everyone! That is how we escape."

"I still don't understand what you're trying to say to me."

"We can use our Gifts to our advantage instead of theirs. Eli can turn off the lights, Peter can hypnotize guards, and you can blend into your surroundings. It's perfect. We have all the skills we need to perform this escape."

"I don't, Ace. What if it goes wrong? What if we get caught?"

"Richard, we have time to plan. Because of my illness, I can stay behind in the cell and watch the guards that stay behind. I can time them, see when their rotations are, and where they keep the keys to the cells and so on."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Because you don't sleep at night, you can figure out their nightly routine. I'm thinking we can escape at night since that's when the guards care less and everyone is in their cells at that time. Once we plan everything through, we can use one of the subs here to escape."

"This sounds great, Ace, but none of us know how to pilot a sub," Richard says. "How are we supposed to get out of here if we can't even pilot one."

"Never fear, my friend, it shouldn't be too hard to pilot one. I bet they have some automatic steering device that will take us back to wherever we sailed away from. Richard, don't you see? This is going to work, I'm sure-" Ace pauses and turns to the toilet where he starts to throw up again. When he pulls away, Richard sees that the boy's lips are coated in a black, oily-looking substance. Ace wipes his mouth on the back of his hand and sees that the substance has stained the back of his hand black. "What the-"

"I think it's your Gift," Richard says.

"Well then what is it?"

"Can you cough more up?" he asks.

Ace gives him a strange look and then spits into the toilet bowl. The spittle is the same colour as the substance that coats the back of his hand. The substance has a slick feel to it and gives off an oily sheen. "Have you ever seen an octopus float by your sifter before?" Ace asks.

"Once," he answers. "It didn't really like me when I tried to reach out and touch it."

"Did it spray any ink at you?"

"Yes, I couldn't see few a few minutes afterwards and Eli couldn't stop laughing at me."

Ace nods and looks down at the mysterious substance. "Well, I think I know what my Gift is." Richard looks at him expectantly. "Apparently I have ink in my body."

"I wonder how that happened."

"Oh, I think I'll find out in the next few days. As you said before, Richard, Doc always finds out about the gifts." Ace flushes the toilet and rises to head off to bed. "We start planning tomorrow," he says as he walks past him.

And so the plans for the daring escape are starting to be formed.


	14. Chapter 14: Time

Chapter Fourteen

Time

Richard and Ace speak often at night when they can. They start to formulate a plan that will help them eventually escape this horrid place. They decide that everyone will be on board once they get the plan figured out. Eli will be able to use his Gift to knock out the lights and cameras in this place, ensuring that no one will be able to see them. Peter's Gift will be used to make the guards fall asleep. That way the inmates can move around freely without having to worry about the guards stopping them. The only problem is that they have to get a person out of a cell to get everyone out once the lights are off.

"I think I have it," Richard says and sits up a little straighter on the bathroom floor.

"And what would that be?" Ace asks.

"We need a diversion. If we create some racket, the guards will have to open the cell to break us apart. Once that happens, I can slip out of the cell unnoticed and get everything ready for the big break."

"How will you be able to stay undetected?"

"My Gift," he answers. "I can blend in with my surroundings and be completely invisible to anyone around me."

"And once you're out, we can start the plan. Eli and Peter will both use their Gifts at the same time. Once the lights are out and the guards are asleep, you can start letting everyone out."

"Exactly." Richard licks his lips. It's all too simple. It's brilliant. "Once everyone is out, we take the subs and pilot them out of here. All we have to do is find a change of normal clothes and we'll be on dry land in no time."

"Perfect," says Ace. "Now all we have to do is figure out when we should to this."

"We need more time yet," Richard says. "We have to figure out the guards a little more. We also need more practice time with our gifts. I'm not sure if any of us can handle something like this. Eli has to figure out if he can turn off all the lights in this place, and Peter needs to figure out if he can make everyone go to sleep. I also need to figure out how to blend in with everything."

"Yeah, I can see your first problem already," Ace says and points at the top of Richard's head.

"What is it?" he asks and runs a hand through his hair.

"Your hair," the other boy answers. "You need to get rid of it. If you blend in with your surroundings, your hair will give you away. You'll have to shave it."

"I don't want to go bald!" he protests.

"Do you want to escape or not?"

Richard sighs. "Fine. I'll shave it when we're close to the time, but not now."

"Fine by me, as long as you get it shaved. We can't have your hair messing up our plans."

Richard smiles a little. "Nothing is going to mess up our plans. We're going to make sure everything is perfect for the day we break out."

"Yeah, perfect."

On the weekend, Richard and Ace decide to let their cellmates in on their little plan. They speak in hushed tones and change subjects whenever a guard walks by. Eli and Peter are in. All they have to do now is practice using their Gifts. They have to learn how to master them in a few months. Richard wants to leave Seablite by the time he's eighteen. That leaves them three months to prepare.

After one practice session, Eli figures he'll be good for the big breakout. One day he tested his gift by touching the light bulb socket in the bathroom. He managed to shut off the power in the prison for at least half an hour. Step one is complete.

Peter takes a little bit longer to master his Gift. His surgery rattled him up a bit. He still doesn't say much to anyone and is afraid to use his Gift. Richard continuously tells him that it's the only way to get out of Seablite forever. Cautiously, Peter practices on one boy at a time. Eli is the usual test subject until Peter grows confident enough that he can try to hypnotize all three of them. It takes some time but soon he is able to hypnotize all three of them.

Another batch of inmates arrives one weekend. Richard assumes it will be the final batch to arrive since they're breaking out of here in a few months. The final inmate arrives at their table. He's a nice boy, from what Richard can tell. Very well-mannered and respectful. His name is Kyle and is around the same age as Henry, fourteen.

"Don't get too comfortable, kid," Richard says in a very quiet tone. "We're busting out of here in a few months."

Kyle looks over at him. "Really?" he asks. "Why?"

"The guards do things to us," Eli answers. "Why one of our cellmates was taken away just two days ago."

Indeed there is an empty spot at the table. Ace was taken away not long ago. Richard has been to see him in the infirmary. The dark haired boy is doing well. He just lost a little bit of his spunk when he was cut open. It will take him long to heal since the surgery was so intensive. The plan needs Ace, though. With his ink spewing abilities, he will be able to get the attention of a guard pretty fast. They may have to postpone things for a bit but they will get out of here. Richard will do everything he can to get out of here.

"What do the guards do to you?" Kyle whispers.

"Cut you open," Peter answers. "The water pressure messes with you brain and soon you'll develop a gift, a Dark Gift is what they are called. Once you have one, they cut you open."

"Now, now, Peter," Richard says and pushes around the remaining bits of his food on his tray, "we don't need to scare the kid on his first day."

"I'm just telling him the truth, Richard," Peter retorts. "The kid has to know what's going to happen to him."

"Don't worry, Kyle," Eli assures him. "We'll get you out of here before Doc gets to you." Richard knows it's an empty promise. Doc always gets to the inmates first. But they can always hope, maybe.

Time ever so slowly ticks by. Richard is counting down the days until they escape. Ace gains strength every day. Soon he'll be strong enough so they can initiate the plan. One thing they have to account for is that some of the inmates will be in the infirmary when they escape. They will have to wait for a day when no one is the infirmary. It will make travelling much easier.

"And how will we know when the infirmary is empty?" Ace asks and settles down onto his bed with a wince and a groan. Richard helps his friend to get into a more comfortable position. Ace nods in thanks and lightly rubs his chest where his scar lays.

"Let me worry about that," he says to his friend. "All you should worry about is making sure your stitches don't rip. Otherwise you'll be back in the infirmary."

Ace nods again. "Just don't forget about your hair too. We can't have that messing us up."

Richard rolls his eyes. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten. I'll get it done."

"Get it done soon," he reminds him. "We can't have you forget this."

"I know already. Just get some rest and stop worrying about me. I'm supposed to be the one who's worrying right now."

Ace smiles a little and drifts off into a light sleep. Richard sighs and lies down on the hard floor of his cell. Peter and Eli both look down at him from their bunks.

"You guys really are serious about this whole plan aren't you?" Eli asks.

"Ace and I are almost eighteen. We won't be able to wait until we're twenty-one to get out of here," he answers. "You guys are sixteen. Don't you want to get out of here?"

They both nod. "But what if things go wrong?" Peter asks. "I don't want to stay here any longer than you do, Richard."

"Nothing will go wrong," he insists. "We have run through this plan several times now. Everything is going to work out fine."

"And if it doesn't?" Eli asks. "What happens then?"

Richard is silent for a moment. "I don't know," he says. "I don't know what'll happen." He stands up and moves towards his bed. "We are going to get out of here."


	15. Chapter 15: Escape

Chapter Fifteen

Escape

Today is Richard's eighteenth birthday. For an early gift to himself he shaved his head completely bald only two days earlier. It still feels weird when he runs a hand over his head. But it's all for tonight, _this _night. It's the big night when everything falls according to plan. It will start when all the boys are locked in the cells for the night. The infirmary is empty of inmates so everyone is well enough to travel. Richard wants to be out in at least twenty minutes. With the power off in Seablite, it will take a while to open up all the cells manually. That's where most of the time will go. On an earlier adventure around the prison, Richard found the place where their belongings were being kept, or more accurately their clothes.

He sits down at the table for what he hopes to be his final meal in Seablite. Ace slides down beside him and nods. The dark haired teen rubs his chest where his scar resides. The other inmates assigned to that table soon join them. All of them know it's the night. All the inmates know it's true. They are finally leaving this place for good. They all talk about other things as they usually do at dinner time. The guards are completely oblivious. Soon this prison will be empty of inmates.

"What time tonight?" Peter asks quietly.

"Between nine and ten, that way the inmates are all calm for the night and the guards begin to slack off on their duties," Richard answers. "You can wait three hours I think."

"What are we going to do about Kyle?" Henry asks. "He can barely move as is." The boy has a point. Kyle is suffering from headaches. He says that the creaking prison is much too loud for him. He stays in his cell for the most part.

Richard thinks about this. "We'll have to carry him out then. Once we get out of the prison, he should get better."

The plan is sound. Everyone will get out by tonight. In three hours to be exact.

Three hours to all of them seems like three years. Adrenaline is starting to pump through their veins as the minutes and seconds slowly tick by. They are locked in their cells for the night and Richard prepares himself mentally for what is going to be the hardest thing in his life. He lies on his bed and stares at the ceiling. An object lies hidden under his pillow, an object that will bring pain. The knife he found while mucking was hidden in his locker for months now. Tonight he will use it to give a gift to Doc before he leaves, a little 'thank you' for what he did to them all.

He jumps down from his bed and shakes Ace's shoulder gently. "What?" he mumbles under his breath.

"It's time," Richard says.

Ace sits up abruptly. He ruffles his dark hair and makes it messy. He stands up and paces a bit. It's all part of the act. He's trying to make himself appear anxious and upset. That way he can create a big enough scene to attract the guards. Richard steps back into the bathroom and takes off his orange prison jumper for the last time.

In the other part of the cell Ace conjures up some tears to make himself appear quite fragile. He tugs on the cell bars.

Richard takes off his under clothes and blends in with the back wall of the bathroom. Without any clothes on, he's completely invisible. He slinks back into the main part of the cell where he sees Ace tugging on the cell bars and putting up a fuss. Ace mutters to himself and tugs on the bars furiously.

"Let me out!" he shouts and rattles the bars. Surely this is enough racket to bring out the guards. Eli comes out and tries to calm Ace down. Ace shoves him back with force and yells at the guards to let him out, that he didn't do anything wrong. Sure enough, two of the night guards arrive to see what's happening.

"Kid, calm down," one says.

"I said to let me out!" Ace shouts and tugs on the bars again.

"If you don't calm down, we'll come in there and make you," the other says. Ace refuses and shouts at them. The guards open up the cell and try to take charge, leaving Richard to escape the cell unnoticed.

Ace shoves back a guard who is trying to detain him. The other guard makes the mistake of trying to touch the inmate. Ace spits at him, but it's not the usual saliva that can come from a normal human. A shot of slick, black ink splatters onto the guard's face. He wipes it off with his fingers and stares Ace down, though the boy's glare is just as icy. Together the guards detain Ace properly by forcing his arms behind his back. The boy certainly puts up a fight.

They finally bring him down to the first level of the prison and get him near to the door of the hole. Ace knows it's finally time for the big finale. He breaks free of the guards and gives one a solid hit to the nose. The other guard hollers for back up. Good, the more that arrive, the easier it will be for Peter to put them all to sleep.

Ace puts up a pretty good fight and manages to take down at least two guards before they swarm him. All that work down in the muck pits have finally paid off. He manages to attract ten guards before they place the cuffs on him and shove him into the hole. His arms are behind his back and will remain so until the guards think he's learned his lesson or when Richard comes to get him. Whichever one happens first, his part in the escape is done.

* * *

><p>Once Peter sees that Ace is in the hole, his part begins. He looks over at Eli and nods. He rattles the cell bars, signalling to all the other inmates that they should plug their ears for when he puts the guards into a deep sleep. He doesn't want to put the inmates to sleep. He wants them all awake.<p>

He goes deep into himself and braces himself on the bars. He focuses on the guards and only the guards. Their movements turn sluggish. Soon they all freeze where they stand and then they wait, he waits. He waits for the rest of the guards to come out so that he has all of them here. Five minutes… ten minutes. Finally more guards appear and they also fall under his spell. He waits a little longer until all the guards are frozen down below him.

Once they are all in a trance, Peter works up the courage to speak to them all in a loud and authoritative tone. He tells them that they will go to their rooms and sleep. They won't wake for twenty minutes. He repeats this message to them several times and makes the guards repeat it back to him. He slowly brings them out of the trance. The guards all blink and rub their eyes before walking away to their rooms, as if nothing has happened.

Eli sees this as his turn to start his part. He walks into the bathroom and unscrews the light bulb from its socket. He brings his finger to the socket and shoots an electrical impulse into the system. The lights go dark and, for that matter, the cameras. It's all up to Richard now.

* * *

><p>Once the lights go dark, Richard springs into action. He's been waiting for everything to go according to plan. He breaks into the secure room that holds all of the inmates' precious belongings. He finds his stuff which is really just a pair of clothes. The clothes are too small since he's grown in the past the four years that he's been here. He slips into his pants but cuts off the legs and makes them into shorts. The t-shirt was a little baggy on him back then and is a little tight on him now, but it'll have to do. He's on his way again.<p>

The keys for the cells are in the Warden's office. Hopefully Peter got to him to with the whole trance thing. Luckily, he finds the Warden slumped on his desk and drooling on his papers. He takes the set of keys hanging from his belt and jogs off in the direction of the cells. He opens up his cell first and lets Peter and Eli out. He moves to the next cell and then to next. Peter and Eli are in charge of keeping the inmates in check until they pilot the subs out of here as well as making sure that Kyle is transported onto one of the subs.

He walks down to the hole and slides the key into the lock. "Come on out, Ace," he says. "We gotta go."

"'Bout time," he mutters and walks out of the darkness. "Uncuff me will you? The guards weren't very easy going with me."

"I can tell." Richard takes the handcuffs off of his friend. He throws the handcuffs into the hole and shuts it to make it look like nothing has happened. "I want you to follow me. We're going to get some stuff from Doc before we leave."

"Like what?" Ace asks.

"Our files. Get changed first and meet me at Doc's office."

"Gotchya," he says and takes off in the direction of the storage room.

Richard replaces the keys exactly where he finds them to make sure nothing is suspicious afterwards. He takes a detour while heading to the moon pool and stumbles upon Doc's office. The doctor is slumped in his chair, completely asleep. He shakes the good doctor's shoulder roughly.

"Wakey, wakey, Doc," he says.

Doc struggles out of his daze. Once his eyes adjust to the darkness, he spots a silhouette of a man casually leaning against his desk. "Richard?" he says, voice still thick with sleep. "Is that you? Why is it so dark in here? Why are you not in your cell?"

"I've come to say goodbye, Doc," Richard responds in a calm and even tone. "I'm leaving."

"Right now?" Doc shakes his head. "I would've heard about this a few days prior to your release. Your release isn't scheduled yet, not for a while."

"Of course you would know that. You know everything about me. In fact, you know more about my body than I do."

"Richard, what is this about?"

Richard smiles in the dark. He loves it when Doc sounds confused. Soon he'll have him begging. "The boys and I are leaving, Doc. We're sick of Seablite. We're sick of panning our childhoods away and we're sick of you and your medical team. I've come to stop by and give you a parting gift, kind of like payback for all the stuff you did to us." He brandishes the knife. Confusion gives away to fear and shock on Doc.

"Richard, this isn't you," Doc says. "You wouldn't do this. You aren't a murderer."

"You're absolutely right, Doc," Richard says in a mocking tone. "But neither are you. I've just trying to get even for the scars you gave to me and the boys." Quicker than a sailfish, Richard lashes out and flips Doc onto his desk. He grips the front of Doc's shirt with one hand and plants a knee in his stomach to prevent him from getting away.

"Richard, think about this."

"I've had four years to think about this," he shouts. "Every day was torture for me. And seeing you didn't exactly help my mood any. You've hurt me and I'm only trying to get even. And if you tell the guards what happened to us, you can bet that I'll hear about it and come after you to finish it off."

"You wouldn't kill me, would you?" the doctor asks quietly.

Richard smirks. "I'm just the pyscho that has to be rehabilitated, remember? Anything is possible, Doc, anything is possible." Quickly he slashes one of Doc's palms open, deep enough to cut tendons. Doc yelps in surprise and pain when it happens again to the other hand. "We're far from being even, Doc," Richard whispers into his ear. "Remember that." He talks the hilt of the knife and with one, final, mighty whack, he puts Doc into an unconscious slumber.

He walks toward the door and motions Ace to come inside. "Start going through the filing cabinets. Our files are bound to be here somewhere." They look through the filing cabinets in the office. The files are everywhere. Each one holds a picture of the inmate and all of their personal information. Birth dates, parents, the list is endless. The pages continue with notes and descriptions, as well as what their Gifts are and what they do. They take as many files as they can and carry them to the subs, returning for a second trip afterwards. Now, they are ready to leave.

At the moon pool, the inmates are split up into the two subs that are docked there. The subs are large enough to carry them all. Ace will pilot one and Richard the other. All they have to do is figure out how to operate one. Much to Richard's delight and relief, the controls aren't as complicated as he thought they would be. In fact, there is even a button that will take them to their last destination. Richard pushes it and the sub begins to submerge. The hatch is quickly shut and locked tightly. The second sub follows soon after.

Richard relaxes in the pilot's seat. He did it. _They _did it. They are finally free.


	16. Chapter 16: Return

Chapter Sixteen

Return

Richard tears up one sheet of paper from his file. He writes down a mail address on several strips, giving them out to the boys of cells one and two. They want to keep in touch with one another through letters. They all know that it's probably going to be a tough couple of months for them all. They have to fit in with their normal lives again. Writing letters of frustration to each other will help them when they are apart from each other.

The inmates break apart and walk in their desired directions.

* * *

><p>Richard thought he would never see Gemma again. But now here he is, standing in the hallways of his old boarding home. He wanders around in the girls' wing even though he knows he's not supposed to be here. He couldn't wait though. He has to see Gemma now, just to make sure this isn't some dream.<p>

The girls push around him and the older ones giggle as they see him, the long skirts of their dresses dragging along the ground. He only pushes forward, looking for Gemma. He comes to the final room in this hallway. The door at the end is partially open. He peeks inside and spots the familiar dark and streaky hair of his beloved sister. She's sitting on her bed, staring at a wrinkled photo in her hands. He quietly knocks on the door. She looks up from where she is. It takes her a moment to recognize the large and now near adult male who stands at her doorway. Her blue eyes look up at his and then light up.

"Richard!" she says and leaps off her bed and into his arms. "You're back!" She grips him tightly around the neck as he grips her around the waist, lifting her off her feet.

"Of course I'm back," he says. "You didn't think I would leave you forever, did you?"

"Well, Ms. Spinner told me that you were gone forever and that you were never coming back because you were a bad person," she says and clings all the tighter to him.

"Don't believe a word from that woman," he says sternly. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Gemma nuzzles her head on his shoulder and goes silent for a moment. "Richard?"

"Yes, Gem?"

"I missed you," she says quietly.

"I missed you, too," he answers.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

><p>The happy, little, family reunion is just how Richard imagined it while he was in Seablite. They talk for hours afterwards. Richard remains vague on the details about Seablite. He says it was quite boring and nothing quite interesting happened. He's grateful for his Gift so he is able to hide the scar on his bald head. She notices that he has no hair. He answers that inmates at that prison had to keep their hair shaved.<p>

"And this is where you'll stay for now," Ms. Spinner says as she leads Richard to his room which is already inhabited by three other young men around his age. "You'll get two sets of new clothes in the morning as well." She stops him before he enters the room. "Don't mess this up, _boy._ I can still send you back."

Richard looks down at her defiantly. He's been through too much to have a simple threat like that scare him. "You do that, Spinner," he taunts. "You do that. Now, if you'll excuse me." He pushes past her and enters the room. One bunk remains open, a bottom one. He takes it and sits down. Ms. Spinner stutters for words, but quickly leaves. Richard looks up at his new roommates. They all look much smaller than him. If they know what's good for them, they'll steer clear and leave him alone."

It isn't easy adjusting to life in the boarding home. After being away for four years, Richard finds that he misses life under the waves. He misses the sounds of the ocean and, sadly, the creaking of the prison. The sounds of cars on the streets and lots of people bruise his ears. It's just going to take some time to readjust. He can do it. In a week or two, everything will be back to normal, just the way it should be. He'll forget all about Doc and Seablite. He'll have a normal life and Gemma will always be there. Everything is going to be fine.

He settles down for the night which is the first night he's slept in a boarding home in four years. The mattress is worn down and feels like he's lying on just the wooden planks that support the mattress. The pillow is lumpy and the blanket is scratchy, but he's had to live with this in the prison as well. It's nothing he isn't used to. It's just at the prison the stuff was all new. This stuff here has been used by numerous kids. It's no longer _new. _

Richard thinks that since he's away from the prison, he should have an easier time falling asleep. In the prison he would only get a few hours of sleep. He assumed that it was because he was in a different environment and it would take a while to get used to. Apparently his inability to sleep for long hours followed him back to the home.

He lies awake in his bed for hours on end. Maybe he can't sleep because he's too worried about all the other inmates, his friends. Many of the younger inmates asked him what they were supposed to do when they set foot on dry land. He told them that they should go back to their own homes and pretend that nothing had happened, pretend like the prison let them go. Peter walked off to his home with his guardian uncle. Eli went back to the boarding home where he had said he lived. Ace left quickly and quietly. He wanted everything just to be done with. Henry, Kyle, Matt, and Trevor they all left to go back to their former homes.

He left them all behind to go back to see Gemma, and that thought alone ate him up. He left them without making sure they would be fine without him. He grew attached to them all since they all needed each other to make it through the dark times. It's strange not being with them all for the first time in four years. It's going to take some getting used to, but everything will be fine afterwards.

* * *

><p>With it being summer, there is no school to go to or subjects to learn. It's not like he will learn much anyways. He hasn't learned anything in four years. He is <em>way <em>behind in his learning and probably won't be able to catch up without some serious help that Ms. Spinner probably won't provide. So he spends much of his time catching up with Gemma. He missed her growing up. When he left, she was eight. Now she's twelve, coming up on thirteen, a big year for her. Her birthday is in a few months. He wants to give her something special for that one. He's never had the money to buy fancy gifts for her. They simply didn't have it. Their parents had money saved away, but Richard won't be able to touch that until he's twenty-one, a whole three years away. Usually he would treat her to a night in one of the quality time rooms, but that was the reason why he was locked up in Seablite in the first place. He won't be doing that again anytime soon.

"So what was prison like?" she asks in a small voice.

Richard looks down at her from where they are sitting on the floor. Like usual, they look for spots with room to talk which often meant they sat on the floor in one of the many hallways of the home. "Boring," he answers quickly. "Really boring. I got to sit in my cell day in and day out, all day long."

"That does sound boring," she says and holds onto his hand. "Remind me never to go to prison."

"I will always remind you," he says. "You are not going to go to a prison."

She looks up at him with big, blue eyes. "Does that mean no more quality time?"

"'Fraid so, Gem," he says and reaches up to tug on her long braid affectionately. "I know it was fun and all, but we have to find different ways to have fun and spend time together. Besides, we have a lot of stuff to catch up on. We'll have plenty to talk about for the next while."

"That sucks," she says. "At least I have you back."

Richard smiles, but the smile is forced. He longer feels like smiling anymore. What's there to smile about in the world? His future is already laid out before him. Most likely he will get a low end job when he turns twenty-one. He will do what he can for Gemma, getting her the education and stuff she needs to have a good life, a life he will never have. The jobs he will most likely have are as followed: sanitation worker (garbage man), an errand boy for some person high up in society, a chauffeur for a person high up in society (if he can get his driver's license), or (if he can get to the ocean) a fish gutter. Most of the jobs will serve people that will always be seen as better than him. He will always be looked down upon. As long as Gemma doesn't have that life, it'll all be worth it.


	17. Chapter 17: Left Behind

Chapter Seventeen

Left Behind

While Richard is at the boarding home, he receives many letters. They are all from his friends, but not all of his friends write to him. Eli hasn't written once to him. Richard is a little concerned for him. He knows that Eli is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but out there on the streets anything can happen. There are too many people out there. Crime rate is high as people are always trying to get something that is always out of stock.

Most of the letters contain bad news. His friends feel alone and that they are being stared at by everyone. All of them are afraid, especially the youngest Trevor. From what Richard can tell from the letters, Trevor is all on his own. The boy keeps mentioning how he doesn't feel like he fits in with the people around hm. He's also having trouble with school and is asking Richard for help.

Peter's letters are cold and short. It's as if someone is preventing him from writing what he truly wants. The sentences are vague and give little detail as to what Peter feels like. Richard doesn't like the looks of his letters. He wonders how Peter is doing now that he is back with his abusive caretaker.

Ace isn't doing so well either. His letters talk of despair and loneliness. He also speaks of how he can't sleep at night and is haunted by Doc and his medical team. His letters usually continue with dark and depressing statements.

Richard responds to the letters in earnest and tries to offer his friends encouragement, saying that things will eventually get better. Even he doesn't believe his words, but he's trying, desperately trying to offer his friends some type of comfort. He thinks his words are useless though. He sends the letters anyway.

* * *

><p>Richard sits up in bed suddenly. He finds himself covered in a cold sweat. It's too hot in the room. The heat is suffocating him. He has to get out of here. He kicks off the thin blanket and leaves the room quickly and as quietly as he can.<p>

He finds solitude up on the room of the home. At night everything has cooled down significantly. It's actually pleasant to be outside right now. The space on the roof gives him time to relax and collect his thoughts. For six long months has he been free, and for those six months he has been plagued with nightmares of Seablite. Most involve Doc and his team of expert butchers. They stare down at him, clutching their scalpels and needles like madmen. He can't go to anyone for help. No one will believe him when he tries to explain to them what happened during those four years. How crazy will it sound? He can't sleep because of nightmares of the people who cut into his brain to look at it? It tears him up inside knowing that no one can help him with his problems. No one can ever understand what he went through, not even Gemma.

He paces back and forth on the roof, thinking about what he should do. He feels trapped here. School started several months ago for everyone. Ms. Spinner wouldn't allow him to stay back at the home. He considers himself to be stupid. He has no idea what's going on around him and fails all of the work. He won't pass the semester, he knows that. He has no idea what's going on in the class. The teachers all feel bad for him, but there's not much that they can do. They offer him help which he refuses. He sees no point in it. He won't learn anything even with their help. His fate is already set in stone.

As he thinks about all of this and about Gemma, he can come to only one conclusion that will benefit both of them. He needs to leave to get away from all the people. There's too many of them. They all stare at him like he's the bug under the microscope. There's also the problem of space. Everything is too crowded. He has to get away. The ocean has lots of space. There's a lot to do there. People are even living on the ocean floor. Maybe that's the life for him. No, he knows that it _is _the only life for him. He no longer feels at home in the stack cities. The only place left for him is the ocean.

It will be better if he leaves. At the ocean, one is considered an adult when they turn eighteen. He's eighteen. He'll be able to find a job no problem. Education shouldn't matter out there. As long as he can wield a knife and gut fish, he should be able to do very well out there. That way he can earn money for Gemma. He can finally give her the life she deserves. Hopefully she'll understand. He has to leave for both of them. He can't live here any longer, and she'll actually get the nice things he's always promised to get her.

After not sleeping for the rest of the night, Richard starts to pack. He takes out his hand-me-down backpack and stuffs it full of his extra sets of clothes. Concealed in the very bottom is the emerald knife he used to slash Doc. He keeps it with him since it's the one thing that gave him a little bit of closure. At least Doc won't be able to perform any more tests on kids like him.

He slings his backpack over his shoulder and set off to find Gemma before she heads off to school. He walks over to the girls' wing of the home. Gemma is braiding her hair back for the day. Their mother would do that exact style when Gemma was little, before she died.

"Knock, knock," he says and raps his knuckles on the doorframe.

"Hello, Richard," she says and slips an elastic around the base of her braid. "I'll be out in a moment."

"There's no rush," he says and steps into her room. He sits down on her bed and waits. "Gem," he says softly and folds his hands. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Is it about my homework?" she asks, eyes widening. "I'm trying to keep up with it, Richard. Honest. My teachers give me a lot though."

He gives her a small smile and shakes his head. "No, it's not about your homework. You're doing well with it. I'm not worried about you at all."

Gemma smiles and sits down beside him. Her hands start to fiddle with her skirt. "What do you want to talk about then?"

"Gem," he says softly, "I know you missed me a lot when I was away. I missed you a lot, too. But I'm… different now." He reaches forth and takes both of her small hands in his. "Gem, I can't live here anymore."

Gemma looks up, her smile long gone. She shakes her head. "Richard, no."

"I know this is hard for you to hear, but you have to listen to me, Gem," he says. "I can't live here anymore. It's too… crowded for me. I can't… live here anymore, Gem. I just can't."

"Yes, you can," she insists. "I can help you. I can make you feel better like how you always help me."

Richard shakes his head and looks down at their hands. "No one can help me. No one can do anything. The only way I can feel better is leave. I'm going to leave the boarding home. I'm going to go to the ocean and live there. It's quieter out there and less people as well. That's the only way I'll feel better."

She shakes her head again. "No, I won't let you leave. I just got you back." She pulls her hands away from his and flings them around his neck. He pulls her onto his lap and holds her closely. This is best for both of them.

"And I just got you back," he says and rubs her back. "This is hard for both of us, but this is the best thing for both of us. I'm going to go live on the ocean and work. I'll earn money for the two of us. That way you can go to a good school and get a good education. You'll get a good job and have a family of your own with a quality time room of your own as well."

"You're my family, Richard," she says, sounding muffled as she presses her head into his shoulder.

"I know I am. I love you, Gemma. I'm leaving because I love you. You'll see that this is the best. I'll write you letters every day. I'll send you a little of the money that I make. You can put that away for school or use it to buy something nice for yourself every once in a while."

"But I don't want money, Richard," she whispers. "I want you."

"Gem, I'm leaving today. I'll stay until you leave for school today, but after that I'm gone."

"No," she says firmly.

"Yes," he insists. "It's time for you to go to school now. Do you have your stuff packed?" He feels her nod against his shoulder.

"Can I go with you?" she asks and looks at him with those big, innocent, blue eyes. It melts his heart seeing his sister like this, but it's for the best.

"No, you have to go to school. Besides, I don't think you'll like the smell of dead fish all day. Stay here and stay safe, okay?" Gemma goes silent. She settles down on his lap once again, not wanting to move. "Do you understand know?" She nods against his shoulder. "Good. This isn't going to be the last time we see each other, Gem. It's just a little setback for now, okay?" She nods again. "The bus'll be coming soon. We have to get you ready."

Gemma slides off his lap and places her school books and pencils into her backpack. She wipes away the tears left on her cheeks and fixes her ruffled dress. She's quiet the entire time. Richard doesn't blame her. It's a lot for her to take in. It's been a rough six months for both of them. Separation is the best option.

He leads her out to the front door of the boarding home. Kids are already getting on the buses that will whisk them away to school. Richard bends down to her level and straightens out her dress one final time. "You'll be fine," he says. "Do I at least get a hug before you go?"

Gemma looks up at him with red tinged eyes. She gives him a watery smile and gives him one last hug goodbye and a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Richard," she whispers into his ear. "Promise me you'll write me?"

He nods. "Every day if I can," he answers. "I'll tell you all about my adventures." She smiles and nods. She waves goodbye to him and walks off to a bus. Richard stands and watches her climb onto a bus. He waits for it to leave until he goes off to find Ms. Spinner. He has to talk to her before he leaves for good.

"Ms. Spinner," he says and walks up to her, "I need a word with you."

"Ah, Richard, I see your still here," she says and turns to face him. "Skipping out on school, I see?"

"I'm leaving, actually," he answers. "For good. Just thought I'd let you know before you died of happiness."

"You mean, you plan to leave the boarding home?" she asks.

He nods. "I can't stay here anymore. I'm leaving to go find a better place to live. I just want to tell you that you need to look after my sister, Gemma. I want her to grow up straight."

"Unlike you, Mr. Straid?" she taunts.

Richard is too tired to respond to it. He just wants to leave. "Can you make sure she stays on top of her homework?"

Ms. Spinner nods. "I'll make sure she does a better job than you, deary."

"Good," he mumbles and turns to leave without saying goodbye.

He turns his back on the place that was his home for many years. It relives him somewhat. His muscles relax as he walks further and further away from the boarding home. Soon he'll be by the ocean, a new home, a new start.


	18. Chapter 18: Turn Around

Chapter Eighteen

Turn Around

He arrives at one of the floating Trade Stations that are out on the ocean. The one he is on is not as big as _the _Trade Station, the Trade Station of all Trade Stations. That Trade station is the place where most of the pioneers get their belongings and supplies. This Trade Station that he is at is smaller. There are less people here and mostly keep to themselves. He asks one of the fishermen where he can find a place to stay. The man points him in the direction of the only place that people can stay here for long term situations.

The place where Richard will most likely stay is situated under the water. With the use of cables, the structure hangs underneath the floating platform. The water here is shallow enough so that the cables aren't too long. This Trade Station is mainly for people like Richard, people coming from the stack cities to be integrated into ocean life. He thinks it's a good place to start out.

A low building is built up on to the surface of the Trade Station. On the door is an 'enter' sign. He pushes it open and steps inside. The room is cramped with a desk and a filing cabinet. A white button sits on the desk with a little sign next to it. There is also a ledger and pen. A door is set on the left side of the wall. It is closed. He pushes the button on the desk. The sign next to it says 'Please be patient. We will be with you as soon as we can'. He looks around the small office, he supposes, and sits down on one of the two chairs pushed against the wall. He waits.

Five minutes later, a woman arrives. She is probably near her thirties with dark brown hair cut short so that it meets her chin. She is dressed in a tank top and shorts. Richard is not used to seeing women dressed this way. Usually they wear long dresses with long hair. Obviously this woman doesn't hold up to the New Puritan's beliefs.

"Something you need?" she asks gruffly and leans on the desk.

Richard stands and extends his hand. "Hi, I'm Richard," he says. The woman shakes his hand. "I was wondering if you had a room available."

"Right, let me check that out." She opens the ledger and scans the pages. "We have several rooms open. How long do you plan on staying here?"

He shrugs. "I… I don't know."

"Runaway?" she asks.

"Excuse me?"

"Did you runaway? A few of the younger ones here ran away from home and often start like you just did. Now, did you run away from home?"

"Sort of," he answers. "There's also a problem about-"

"Money?" she guesses. He nods. "Don't worry about it."

"Really?"

"Kid, I get people like you all the time. Most of the people I get barely have anything except the clothes on their backs. We can work out an agreement if you want."

Richard nods. "What do you have in mind?"

The woman shrugs and sits on the edge of her desk. "I own a fishing business. From seven to three-thirty, an eight hour day with three breaks scheduled throughout it. Most of the money you make will go to pay off your room and board. Say sixty-forty. I keep sixty, you take the forty."

He blinks. He didn't expect it to go this fast at all. Suddenly he has a job and a home. "What kind of work will you expect me to do?"

"Guttin' fish," she says and rights something down in the ledger. "You'll work five days a week. Saturdays and Sundays you have off to do what you like. Do you agree with this all?"

He nods eagerly. "Yes, I do."

"Excellent. My name is Karen. I own this little place here as well as the fishery. You can come to me any time you would like if you have a problem. Just sign here on the ledger and I'll show you around. Also do you want to be paid in cash or cheque?"

"Cash," he answers. He has no bank account to deposit that money. And some of it he would like to send to Gemma without any complications.

He steps forward and takes the pen from her hand. He writes his name down on the dotted line and sets the pen back down on the desk. Karen smiles at him and with a gesture of his hand she leads him through the door on the side of the wall. What he finds is a short set of stairs that leads to what looks like a living room.

"Follow me," Karen says. She tromps down the short set of stairs and into the larger room. Richard follows close by. "This is the dining hall slash recreation room." On one side of the room there are several tables with benches for people to sit by and eat. On the other side of the room are sofas and TVs for the people who stay here to relax and enjoy themselves. The walls surrounding the room are clear and show into the ocean.

"Air purifiers are in the building up top," she explains. "Fans circulate the air through vents throughout this whole place so the air is always good to breathe here. Most of our power is supplied by the sun and water currents."

"Where's the kitchen?" he asks, noting that there is no kitchen to make the food even though the sitting area for eating food is located in this room.

"One level below us," she says. "It didn't fit in here so we moved it a floor down. Come along then, I'll show you around." She leads him through another door and down another set of stairs. They reach the first floor and down the hallway do they walk. "These rooms are mainly for storage. Bed sheets, pillows, and anything else really. We've got several laundry rooms down here for you to do your own laundry. People do their own stuff around here, unless you pay Elsa to do it."

"Who?" he asks.

"Elsa," she answers. "You'll meet her in a minute." Karen leads Richard into the kitchen which is quite large with silver and metal appliances. A single person is in the kitchen, preparing some meal probably for dinner. "For breakfast it is usually cold cereal or oatmeal occasionally. For your lunch for work, you can take some of the food here for it. And for dinner it is carried up from this kitchen to the dining hall upstairs. Usually it's a hot meal."

"Brought another mouth for me to feed, Karen?" the person who is cooking asks. The girl stops stirring the large pot and turns around to face Richard. Taken aback by her appearance, Richard is reminded a little bit of Ace. The girl is certainly striking and would draw a lot of attention. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail, covered in a hair net. It is a striking and rich violet colour, but he can tell it is a wig. No one has hair that type of colour. Her fingernails are also painted the same colour, even the makeup she wears matches her absurd ensemble.

"Yes, and you could at least act like you care," Karen says. "This is Richard Straid. Just arrived 'bout ten minutes ago."

"Shade did you say?" the girl asks.

"Straid," Richard pronounces. "Hi."

"Hi, I'm Elsa," the girl says and turns her back on them to return to the pot. "Although some people call me Ellie or El. It doesn't really matter what you call me. I'll hear you out eventually."

"Elsa also does laundry for those who are too busy," Karen says. "But it'll cost ya."

"I charge ten dollars a load," Elsa replies. "That includes, washing, drying, and, if I feel like it, folding and delivery."

"I can take care of myself," he says. "But thanks anyway."

She shrugs. "Suit yourself."

"Come on, Richard," Karen says. "I'll show you to your room." They leave the kitchen and continue the tour around this seaside home. On the fourth level of the home, she pulls out a ring of keys and pulls one off the keychain. She slips it into the lock of the door and opens it up. "It's not much," she says. "But it's probably more space than what you're used to Topside." The room is probably one of the largest rooms Richard has ever seen in his life. Inside there is a dresser for clothing, a night table beside the bed, and a single bed that is all his.

"This… this is for me?"he says and steps into the room. To him, this room is too large for him. It feels weird to be allowed to have such a large room.

Karen laughs behind him, a warm sound that makes him feel welcome. "Of course it is." She hands him the key and presses it into his palm. "Dinner is at six. Don't forget that. Some of the people here work for me so you won't be alone when you get up for work. You leave this place at six forty-five. So you can figure out when to get up on the morning."

"I start tomorrow?" he asks.

"Yup, I don't like slackers, kid," she says. "Just follow the others and you'll be fine."

"Thanks," he says. "For everything."

"Don't mention it." She leaves him standing in his room.

He sets out his stuff and meager belongings in his dresser and on his nightstand. It doesn't look like much, but this place is all his. For once he has a place to call his own. He has a key to prove it! Now he has a job, room and board, a bed. Things are finally turning around for him.


	19. Chapter 19: Fish Galore

Chapter Nineteen

Fish Galore

Richard keeps to himself the first night at his new home. Few people are near his age. They are probably the ones that Karen referred to as the runaways, people like him. Most of the people here are older than him. They don't pay him much attention that first night. The girl Elsa doesn't make an appearance at dinner. But the food she cooks up is delicious. It's much better than the stuff he used to get back at the boarding home and in the prison for that matter. It actually has taste.

Not knowing what to do after dinner is finished, he goes down to his room and closes the door so that he can have some privacy. He has few belongings in which to fill his dresser. Once he has money, he is sure to buy some new clothes and get a few belongings to make this place seem a little more like home. He smiles to himself. He actually has a room. Things are turning around for him. He wonders how his friends are and if they are doing alright. If he can find some paper and envelopes, he will send them all letters about what has happened.

Someone knocks on his door. He steps up to it cautiously, not sure of what to expect. This is his first night here. Anything can happen to him. He opens it up a smidge and looks out into the hallway. He sees nothing. He opens the door a little wider and comes face to face with Elsa. He steps back in surprise.

"Hello," she says cheerfully.

"Hi," he says. "What… what are you doing here exactly?"

"I'm formally welcoming you to this wonderful home under the sea," she says dramatically with a wave of her hand. "I didn't really get a chance to know you when you first arrived. I was a little preoccupied at the moment."

"I saw," he responds and rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably. He has no idea of how to speak to this girl. Words seem to fail him and he longs to retreat back into the safety of his room. "I like your… hair," he says lamely. Really he has no idea if he likes her hair or not, he just wants the awkward silence between them to end.

"Oh, this?" she says and holds up a violet strand of hair. She shrugs. "It's not my favourite colour, but I do love the curls. So I just wanted to pop by and welcome you to the home here. If you ever need anything like food or laundry to be done, I can help you out."

"Thanks," he says.

Elsa smiles at him and whirls around, going back down the hallway in the direction she probably came from.

Richard sighs in relief and slinks back into his room, firmly shutting the door behind him. His palms are sweaty. Adjusting to this place is going to be harder than he thought. He doesn't know what to say to these people if they ask him questions. If he keeps his mouth shut and his head down, he should be able to avoid their questions if they have any.

He falls asleep quickly that night and for the first time in almost five years, Richard feels a little bit happy.

* * *

><p>The next morning comes early. He hauls himself out of bed and up the stairs to the dinner hall. A few people are already up as well. Breakfast is already set out. Boxes of cereal are opened and milk jugs and set up. Bowls are stacked up and spoons are set up. He helps himself to some breakfast and sits down at the table, alone. He eats as much as he can. He realizes he has no food for the rest of the day, and he will certainly need it where he's going.<p>

He goes down to the kitchen and begins to snoop around. He finds a few packaged items and water bottle, throwing them all into a plastic bag. He walks back up the stairs and rejoins the others, sort of. He still keeps his distance from them and they don't seem to mind.

Eventually the people start to head up to the docks. Richard follows them at a safe distance. They board a sub that is tied to the dock. It is much like that of the one that transported Richard to Seablite. He takes his seat like the others have and waits for the sub to take him to wherever he is needed.

The sub cuts through the water quickly, going deeper and deeper until it reaches the ocean floor. It breeches the surface of a moon pool and its passengers all clamber out. Richard follows and finds himself in a structure made of metal grates used to keep water from filling up the structure. He follows the others to the kitchen where they will take their breaks. He deposits his plastic bag in the fridge. The others do the same and move off to the work stations.

The work stations are located in long rooms with large metal tables in the center. There are buckets underneath the tables, and sets of knives being brought out to the tables along with aprons, rubber gloves, and goggles. Most of the people head to the gear that lies on the table. Others make their way further down the room to a separate room in the back. He stands there, unsure of where to go or what to do.

One of the workers, an older man, steps towards him. "You're new here, aren't you?" he asks. Richard simply nods. "I guess you'll be part of the guttin' crew." He claps Richard on the shoulder and gently nudges him towards the table.

He looks down at his gear and looks to the others. They are all dressed in stained aprons with goggles. They each clutch their knives in rubber covered hands. Soon he is dressed like them and waits. The men in the back arrive with large plastic boxes filled with recently air drowned fish. The fish is dumped onto the tables. The sides of the table are slightly raised to keep the slippery fish from sliding off. He watches as the others pick up the fish and slide their knives into the bellies of the deceased fish. He stares down at the knife in his hand. He's wielded a knife once before and that was to bestow a parting gift to Doc. He doesn't know what to do with this knife though. He doesn't even know how to gut a fish properly.

"You look like you need some help," the older man says and slides over to where Richard stands.

Richard looks over at him and nods. "I don't know what I'm doing," he says.

"Here," the man says, "I'll show you." He picks up a good sixed fish and sticks his knife into the fish's gut. He slides the knife downwards and twists it, just a bit to pull out the guts in one clean sweep. The gutted fish is tossed into an open crate. The guts are slapped down into a bucket under the table. "There. Now you try."

Richard picks up his knife and takes a fish in his other hand. He slides the knife into the belly, listening to the careful instructions of the old man. He repeats the actions he was shown and guts the fish completely. The man pats him on the shoulder and smiles.

"There you go," he says and smiles. "That wasn't so bad. Now, try it again."

Richard picks up another fish and guts it in the same manner as before. The process continues. Other workers who aren't gutting fish take away the full crates of gutted fish to be put on ice and delivered to Topside and be sold. The full buckets of fish guts are hauled away too. Air drowned fish are continuously dumped onto the table. It's a never ending cycle of sliding the knife into the soft fish and yanking out their guts. The work is tedious, but much better than panning for black pearls.

And so continues Richard's first day of work. Eventually the employees are a given a short break to rest and eat. Again he keeps to himself and doesn't talk. Instead he tries to figure out the people he works with. The older man who showed him how to gut a fish is called Rex. He's quite a large man with scarred hands from working in this place for a very long time.

The bell goes off and the employees go back to their stations and continue to gut the fish.

* * *

><p>At the end of the day, Richard smells like fish. Everyone smells like fish. He doesn't like it. In fact, it is a very revolting smell that Richard cannot wait to get rid of, if it can ever be washed off.<p>

Someone sits down beside him on the sub that will take them all back to the home. It's Rex. Obviously he purposely chose this seat since there are many other open seats around than just the one next to Richard.

"Name's Rex," he says and extends a scarred and rough hand in Richard's direction.

Richard takes it and shakes it quickly. "Richard."

"Nice to meet you. How was your first day?"

He shrugs. "I've had worse."

"You like it?"

"I can live with it."

Rex nods his approval. Richard waits silently for him to ask the next questions which he knows is coming. "Heard you were a runaway. Where'd you come from before?"

He doesn't want to answer that. Really, he doesn't. He wants to leave behind his old life. After a moment, he answers, "Boarding home." Hopefully that answer will suffice.

"I see. How do you like it here?"

No follow up questions about his past? This is excellent! "I like it," he says. "It's nice."

"Good. Glad you like it. It's probably better than those stack cities."

"It is." The conversation dies out there. Richard has nothing to say. Rex seems to notice this and allows the young man to sit in silence for the rest of the ride.

* * *

><p>Richard steps out a very long shower, feeling clean and smelling it. He get back to his room and looks at his pitiful stash of clothes. They are all hand-me-downs and aren't that spiffy looking. Most likely all of these clothes will become work clothes in the future. Soon he will have no good clothes to wear until he's paid to buy some new pairs. Even then it might not be much money since Karen is keeping over fifty percent of his wages.<p>

He tosses his dirty clothes into a corner of the room. He should have enough clothes after tomorrow to start a small load of laundry. They shouldn't stink up his room too badly. The apron kept off most of the splatter from the fish guts so smell shouldn't be a big problem.

There is still a lot of time left before dinner starts. It would be best to become acquainted with his new home. Maybe he'll be able to find some paper and writing utensils to start a letter to Gemma. He did promise to write her often.

He climbs up the stairs to the first level of the home. He should be able to find some in the office. Hopefully Karen won't mind that he's taking a few things. She seems like a pretty slack landlord. He goes up to the office real quickly and takes a pencil and a few sheets of paper. He decides to stay in his room and write his letters. That way he'll be able to send them away tomorrow.

Using the nightstand as a hard surface to write on, he begins his first letter to Gemma.

_Dear Gemma,_

_I hope you're doing well at the boarding home. What am I saying? Of course you're doing well. You're my little sister. You're the toughest girl out there._

_If you're worrying about me, you don't have to. I found a nice place to stay and so far it seems to be working out quite well. The people are nice and the food is good. And I've got a room. My own room, Gem! It's a good place here. Don't worry about me. I'm fine. _

_Stay tough. I love you_

_Richard_

_P.S. Make sure you do your homework. I'm not there to make sure you're doing it._

He finishes the letter, happy with what he wrote. Now to write to his other friends and tell them all the good news, that there is hope for them after all.


	20. Chapter 20: Letters

Chapter Twenty

Letters

In the days following Richard's new life, he receives many letters to which he replies as quickly as he can.

_Dear Richard,_

_I'm happy that you found a place to live. I was very worried about you for the past few days. It's different here without you. I miss you._

_And you have your own room? That's not fair! Can I come visit you now? Or maybe live with you?_

_I am keeping up on my homework. Ms. Spinner is making sure I am, but she doesn't seem very pleased to be doing so. Also I found out a new way to have fun without you. I started teaching all of my younger roommates swear words. It's quite fun and I haven't been in trouble once yet!_

_Please reply soon_

_Love, Gemma_

He smiles as he sets down the letter and writes his response.

_Dear Gemma,_

_I miss you lots too. It's not the same here without you and I really miss the sound of your voice. But I must say that I'm feeling much better now. Living in the ocean is just what I needed. And no, you can't come live with me. The ocean isn't for little girls like you._

_I'm happy that you're keeping up on your homework, but I'm a little disappointed in you for ruining those poor innocent minds around you. And where did you hear of these swear words by the way?_

_Until next time_

_Love, Richard_

He sets those letter to the side and picks up the next one which just so happens to be from Peter. He peels open the envelope and pulls out the piece of paper that has only a few lines written on it.

_Dear Richard,_

_I need your help. I don't know what to do. I can't stay here anymore, but I don't know where to go. I'm scared, Richard. I need help._

_Peter_

Richard thinks long and hard about how to answer to Peter. All he knows about Peter's predicament is that he has an abusive uncle who looks after him. Most likely the boy has been slapped around a bit and who knows what else has happened to that poor boy. He comes to a conclusion that will hopefully work.

_Dear Peter,_

_Why don't you come here? It's better by the ocean. Less people. Less stares, if that's what you're trying to get away from. _

_Richard_

Realizing that it's getting late, he sets aside the other letters and flips off his light. He has another long day of gutting fish before him. The routine is good to have and he welcomes it. It's good to have a steady routing again, a routine that he actually likes. It's much different from the work and routine in Seablite. His back isn't as sore and his hands no longer blister from shovelling muck. But he does have to trade in those bad things for other bad things. Such has instead of a sore back, he returns smelling like fish. Instead of blisters, he comes home with shallow cuts from when the knife slips in his hands. But the one thing that makes gutting fish much better is that he makes money while doing it. That's a much better deal than what Seablite offered.

* * *

><p>Slowly the weeks pass by. Richard is slowly becoming a little more comfortable around these people. If they ask him questions, he will answer to the best of his ability. Rarely does he ask a question to someone else, but it's a start. These people aren't as bad as the ones in the stack cities.<p>

His floor is littered with letters as the weeks go by. Gemma writes to him a lot, telling him about her day and about how she learned the swear words. Those letters make him smile. The others from his friends, however, don't make him smile. They make him frown and worry.

Peter hasn't responded since Richard sent the letter to him, suggesting that he come down to the sea home where Richard lives. Eli still hasn't written once to him since their escape. Richard is close to assuming that the worst has happened to the younger boy. Ace replies infrequently. Usually he sends a letter once a week and sometimes not even that. His letters are kind of odd though. In one letter, he will say how angry and scared he is. In the next he'll say he's okay and feeling better. Richard doesn't know which letter to believe.

Matt is probably the most successful out of all of them. He thanks Richard for all of his help, but he says he's doing fine now and probably doesn't need any more help. Richard is happy for him and doesn't send any more letters to him.

The one thing that hasn't changed is the nightmares. They still make it difficult for him to sleep and get his needed rest. At first he thought that when he arrived his sleeping problems would go away. That doesn't happen. In fact, he still lies awake for hours during the night. Despite the work, he just isn't tired enough to sleep. Sleep eludes him and until he figures out what's going on, he won't be able to sleep as he as he used to before Seablite.

After a night of lying in bed, he decides to leave his room and wander around, thinking that the movement will make him sleepy. He gets up to the first floor of the home. Someone is already up, he notices. The person sits by one of the large windows, huddled up in a blanket, looking out into the ocean that is lit up with a brilliant display of colour. Quietly, he moves closer to the window to see what is happening.

"Can't sleep?" the figure asks.

Richard stops. The person turns her head and faces him. It's Elsa, still dressed in her blue, spikey wig with matching coloured nails and makeup. Every day she has a different set up of clothes and makeup.

"Yeah, you?" he asks and sits down on the same couch as she, but on the other end.

She shrugs. "It's the one time when I can get away from everyone and just have some time by myself. Someone is always around here, but at night, everyone's gone."

"Oh." He suddenly feels like he's intruding on Elsa's privacy. "I can leave if you want me too."

"Don't," she says. "You don't have too. So why can't you sleep?"

He looks down at his hands and picks at his nails. "Why should I tell you?"

Elsa thinks about this for a moment and nods. "Fair enough. We barely know each other. I can understand."

Richard sighs. At least the girl isn't intrusive. He knew some pretty intrusive girls at the boarding home. "So what are you looking at?" he asks and stares out into the water that is glowing with flashes of red and white.

"Oh, just having some fun," she says and looks out. "Those are red devil squids. I like to coax them out of their homes and play around with them."

"What do you mean?"

"Watch." She pulls out something from the blankets and holds it up to the window. She pushes a button and the device starts to blink red and white lights in quick succession. "Now, we wait," she whispers.

Richard leans forward, looking into the murky ocean. Red and white lights respond to Elsa's device. They come closer until Richard sees a squid pass by real quickly. Another appears slowly and takes the time to eye them both with a large eye before shooting off back into the water.

"Aren't red devil squids the best?" she says and continues to stare out into the ocean. "Have you ever seen such a thing before?"

"No," he says. "I wasn't raised by the ocean."

"Neither was I, but I would think that after you spent a couple of months here, you would see something spectacular."

Richard shrugs. He may have seen spectacular things in Seablite, but he does not want to go back and remember any of that stuff. "I haven't seen many things yet," he lies. "I haven't been out into the ocean."

"You haven't?" she asks, sounding completely shocked. He shakes his head. "Oh, you _have _to go out into the ocean. We should go out this weekend."

"Wait, what?"

She nods. "I can show you around this weekend!" Elsa claps excitedly. "I've always wanted to show someone all the sights I've found on the ocean floor."

"I still don't-"

"We'll have to prepare, I guess," she continues, no letting Richard have any say in this. "You'll need a dive suit of course, and all the other dive gear. I'll have to check the mantaboards and see if they're working."

"Wait just a-"

"Oh I'm so excited now!" she squeals. "This is just perfect. I've been dying to have a good dive with someone. And what better way to show a newbie like you!" Elsa stands up and gathers her blanket around her. "I'll start planning tomorrow then. Oh, this is so great." She disappears down the stairs, continuing to talk to herself about the plans for the weekend. This leaves a very confused Richard on the couch.


	21. Chapter 21: Fear

Chapter Twenty-one

Fear

Richard and Elsa surface the water. They pull themselves up onto the doc and pull off their helmets, letting the liquigen evaporate.

"You take to the water quickly," Elsa says once she's caught her breath.

He shrugs and pulls out the mantaboard, pushing the fins inward to make it easier to carry. "I've had some experience."

"Really? That's odd. Most of the people don't even know how to swim when they first arrive here. Have you ever been Oceanside before?"

He doesn't answer and stares off to a fixed point. His time in the water was great. He got to see things that he has never seen before. The experience overall was amazing.

And terrifying.

They came upon a muck pit and Elsa dug out a black pearl from the oozing muck. She smiled at its beauty. Richard didn't. There was no beauty in that black object. It made his heart stop, seeing something like that again. He hated the sight of it. The backbreaking hours he had spent in pits like those made him remember all the horrible times of his experience in Seablite.

He twisted the handgrip on his mantaboard and zoomed as far as he could away from the muck pit and black pearls, leaving Elsa behind to wonder what really happened back there.

"Richard?" she says again, "are you okay?"

"Hm?" He breaks away from his thoughts and looks at Elsa. Her hair is held back by a long scarf, but he can't tell what her natural colour is. Apparently she likes flamboyant wigs better. "Yeah, fine," he says quickly. "Just fine."

She stares at him for a moment, but decides not to ask any more questions. "Well, I should get down to the kitchen," she says and stands up, collecting her mantaboard, helmet, and dive pouch filled with interesting jewels they found. "See you later."

She leaves him on the dock with his legs in the water. Richard did enjoy his swim, don't get him wrong. Some things are better left alone and unremembered. The wall he built around himself crumbled a bit. Who knows how long it will take for him to build it back up again. To all of the people in the home, he is just some unlucky kid who had a rough time in the stack cities and came here to have a fresh start. No one knows the true story of Richard Straid. No one knows about Seablite, his cellmates, Doc, or his Dark Gift. He's kept that all locked away deep inside himself. It will never come out and no one will ever find out who he truly is. They won't know he's a freak.

He cleans up his gear and goes off to take a shower and write some letters. He needs some time to himself, to repair the damage that has been done.

The night is not a peaceful one. Richard doesn't wake up shaking like he usually does from a nightmare. Nor is he covered in sweat. He's curled up on the bed with the blanket tightly wrapped around him. His throat is sore and his eyes are irritated. His nose is runny as well. He's been crying. He can feel the wet traces of tears upon his cheeks.

That's a first. Never has he woken up crying before.

Kicking off the twisted sheets, he sits up on his bed and fumbles for the switch to his lamp. The light is bright and it takes a few moments for him to adjust. He wipes off his cheeks and takes in several, deep, calming breaths. He gains control of his emotions and rests his head in his hands. He hates this. He hates how weak he is, how fragile he is in the night.

Nighttime is Richard's biggest fear. He feels so childish about it, but it's true. In the daytime, he can keep up his appearance being the cold and mysterious boy from a stack city. He has a routine to follow during the day. Wake up, eat breakfast, pack a lunch, gut fish, return and take a shower, write some letters, eat dinner, write a little more, then fall asleep. Day is when his guard is up. At night it is lowered and he has no way to protect himself.

At night the dark is too dark. The quiet is too quiet. And the room is too empty. He often finds solitude up in the living room. Staring out into the ocean is what he usually what he does. Sometimes Elsa is there. Sometimes it's just him.

He does find if perplexing that the ocean was once a place of pain and confinement for him. But now it's his home. An interesting deal indeed. But now it's no longer confining. It's much more spacious. _Much _more.

That brings him to wonder about his friends. They aren't doing as well as him. That is evident. Their letters tell the fully story. There are too many people in the stack cities that are all staring at them. Peter has it the worst for his scar is along his neck and probably isn't covered up. That will lead to a lot of questions and stares which Peter probably won't be able to handle. Richard worries about him constantly.

The only ray of sunshine in his day is his letters from Gemma. She is happy, but sometimes sad because he isn't there anymore. She always writes to him about her day and the usual pranks she pulls on Ms. Spinner. Apparently she has caused quite a ruckus with the younger ones by teaching them swear words. He replies and tells her about his day and the things he has seen while in the water. Then he tells her to be good and watch temper. And always he signs _with love. _

When he's paid, he sends a little bit of the money he receives off to Gemma with another letter. She responds quickly. She's happy about it, but Ms. Spinner took it from her and locked it away in a safe box until she turns twenty-one. Richard replies as best he can, saying that at least she won't lose it.

Realizing that he isn't going to get anymore sleep, he walks up to the lounge and sits on one of the couches. He is tired, but has no need to sleep. His sleeping habits from Seablite are still with him. He groans, knowing that this is no good. With work, he needs as much sleep as he can get to perform at optimal level.

He looks into the dark sea surrounding the home. Often small fish will dart across the glassy surface, showing themselves for an instance before disappearing into the murky, black, ocean. One marine creature catches his eye. A large shark swims past the glass. Its powerful tail swishing back and forth, its mouth full of razor sharp teeth, and its black eyes made it a terrifying yet beautiful creature. It swims away.

Richard stretches out on the couch and relaxes.

"Can't sleep?"

He sits up a little and spots Elsa, still with her hair pulled back by the scarf. "Yeah," he says. "You?"

She shrugs and sits across from him. "Since I don't work at the fishery, I go to bed late."

"How are you paying for this?" he asks and lies back down.

"Karen and I have a deal," she says. "I cook and clean and do other odd jobs around the home for her. Plus I do laundry for some of the residents here, for a fee of course."

He nods and rubs his eyes.

"Richard."

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

He yawns and closes his eyes. "Go ahead."

"When we were at the pits today, you seemed to freak out," she says. "It's totally understandable, since I know new divers have freak out moments, but you've been quiet since we came back. Is something wrong?"

"No," he says flatly. "Everything's good. Just a…freak out moment then. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

He nods. The room goes quiet. Elsa hears his breathing go even. There is a lot of mystery surrounding this one, she thinks to herself. She doesn't want to pressure him into talking about things that will make him uncomfortable. She has seen that happen here before and it doesn't end up well. If Richard wants to talk, then he will talk. She won't push him into anything he doesn't want to do. He'll change. Eventually he'll talk.


	22. Chapter 22: Suffering

Chapter Twenty-two

Suffering

Months roll by, and Richard adjusts to his new life quite easily. The routine is easy and simple, no one stares at him, and there's space. There's room to breathe here. He likes it. He's actually happy for once. Yes. Leaving the boarding home was the right decision. He's glad that he made it.

One day his happiness is shattered. He receives a particularly disturbing letter from Peter. After months of silence, Peter has finally replied to Richard's last letter.

_Richard,_

_Get me out of here._

_Peter_

He stares at the few words for a second, trying to understand the meaning perfectly clear before he decides to act. He's barely heard anything from Peter in the past few months and now this. His friend needs help and quickly. He'll have to travel to the mainland to get to Peter. That'll take a couple hours in itself. Then there's the whole matter of tracking down where Peter lives. Tomorrow is Saturday. That'll give him two days to find Peter. He has enough money to make sure he gets around with comfort and ease. He'll leave early in the morning and catch one of the supply ships. It's the only thing he can do. Plus it will be good to see his friend again. It's been a year since they escaped Seablite. In Richard's opinion, Peter has probably had the toughest time adjusting. He was already fragile when they first met. To make matters worse he was experimented on, leaving behind a long scar. That didn't help build character at all.

After brushing his teeth and settling down for the night, he gathers the things he will need for the morning and sets his clock to wake up at around seven. That way he'll have enough time to eat real quickly and still make it one of the supply ships. He slips under his blankets, knowing that it won't be an easy day tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Richard arrives on the mainland at noon. Luckily, the clouds have rolled in and are shielding him from the intense rays of the sun. He stops at one of the convenient stores to rent one of the GPS units to find out where he has to go. He attaches the device to his wrist and with a push of a button activates the screen. He states his desired destination and the GPS quickly calculates and sets up a route for him. Soon he is on his way.<p>

The route is very long and Richard is finding it very difficult to be back in a stack city. People brush past him without a care in the world. He tries to skirt around them, but then he bumps shoulders with a person he didn't see before. When he can, he presses his back against a building and waits for a space to open within the crowd of moving people. He doesn't want to take one of the taxi services within the city for he doesn't have much on him and needs to save that money for only the necessities. It also isn't a good idea to carry much money around on him when in a stack city. There are a lot of desperate people out there.

After walking around for a few hours, only to stop once for a quick lunch of fried fish fillet, Richard stumbles upon Peter's home. And not a minute too soon. The clouds open up and start to soak the city in a downpour. The dark sky rumbles above. Richard ducks into one of the less cared after apartment complexes. With space being very limited, the apartments are small. Really they are barely even fit to house one person let alone two. Usually they come equipped with a small bathroom, a bedroom with a small single bed, and a very small living space with enough room for a chair. No apartment has a kitchenette for they take up too much room. That means the residents have to go out to eat their meals or they have small appliances hooked up to the elements.

Now he has the trouble of finding Peter's room. He does the natural thing and asks the first person he sees.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" he asks.

The lady turns around and spots Richard. Clutching her hand bag close to her chest, she warily looks up at him. "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you could help me find someone," he says. "He's a teenage boy just two years younger than me. Blond hair, blue eyes, answers to the name of Peter."

The lady thinks about this for a moment. "Oh yes, I know him," she says. "He's Robert Kellsworth's nephew. Their on the second floor, room 23."

"Thank you, ma'am." He walks off briskly to the stairs and begins to the climb them.

He reaches the door marked 23 and knocks on the door. He waits. A lock switch is turned. The door is opened, but not all the way. It's held back by a small length of chain.

"What do you want?" The voice that speaks is quiet and meek. Richard looks down at the person who answered the door. The door hides most of the boy, but the only thing he sees are those lifeless, blue eyes.

"Peter? Is that you?" he asks.

Peter doesn't betray a hint of emotion that he even heard Richard. He catches a glimpse of the stark bruise on Peter's cheek.

Before Peter can respond, a harsh voice cuts in. "Who's there, boy?" Richard's only guess is that the voice belongs to Peter's Uncle Robert.

Richard wants Peter to say something, to recognize him and respond. But he keeps quiet.

"I asked you a question," Robert says.

"No one, sir," Peter says, almost robotically. There is also a slight tremor in his voice.

"Then close the blasted door."

"Peter, don't," Richard whispers.

The boy just looks impassively up at him. The door is closed. Not willing to accept this, he knocks on the door again and waits. His knocking goes unanswered. After several minutes of pacing back and forth, Richard retreats back down to the main floor to come up with another idea.

When he reaches the main floor, he slides down against the wall and puts his head in his hands. That boy wasn't Peter. Peter wouldn't just give up like that. What has happened to him in the past year? Richard's mind can only imagine the things the boy went through when he's alone with that monster to take care of him.

"Did you find your friend, deary?"

Richard looks up. The older woman who directed him to Peter's apartment is back. "I did," he says. "Thanks for the help."

"Oh, now you don't sound all that happy," she says and takes a step closer. "Is there something wrong?"

"Sort of. My friend didn't respond to me. I wanted to come here and help him."

The woman clucks her tongue. "I know what you mean, deary. Peter has never been a talkative boy ever since he came here to live with his uncle."

"You know him?" he asks and stands up.

The woman nods. "Not a lot, but we do stumble into each other's paths every once in a while. So sad too. His parents died when he was so young. I've never seen that boy smile in all the years I've known him."

"Do you ever see him with bruises?"

She thinks about it and nods sadly. "I've seen that boy come out with a twisted ankle before."

"Don't you try to help him?"

The woman is shocked. "I try to help him when I can, but he always refuses. Always responds that he tripped while climbing down the stairs or he bumped into a wall. I've always been worried about him."

Richard soaks up all this new information. He has to get Peter out of this building. How can anyone live here? Not the building, but with that man. The sooner they return to the ocean, the better.

"Do you have any place to stay for the night?" the woman asks.

Richard shakes his head. "I was planning on leaving tonight with Peter." He shrugs. "I guess that's not going to happen."

"Why don't you stay with me for the night? I've bought enough food to last me a fortnight and I could certainly use some help in eating it all."

Richard doesn't know what to say. But when there's freed food involved, he just can't say no.

The older woman, named Betsy Burrows, invites Richard to stay in her small apartment. In the living room of the apartment sits a small, round table with two chairs on either side. One is wooden and the other is cushioned. A window is set into the wall next to the table with a plant sitting on the windowsill.

"Make yourself at home," she says and locks the door firmly behind her. "Dinner is already on the table."

Richard sits down on the wooden chair. Two, Styrofoam containers sit on the table.

"I was expecting company," she says and joins Richard at the table, sitting down slowly in the cushioned chair. "But they cancelled suddenly."

Inside the container is a piece of grilled fish with a fresh, seaweed salad. Politely he eats it, minding his manners.

"So you are a friend of Peter's," Betsy asks in the middle of their meal.

"I know him," he answers, not sure where this conversation will lead. "School and such."

She nods and wipes her mouth on a napkin. "He's had a rough life, just so you know. Parents are dead. He has no other family than Robert, and he went to prison for a few years. Such a pity."

Richard nods. Of course, he knows all of this, but he doesn't want to give anything away.

"Would you like some tea?" she asks. Before he can answer, she's already out of her chair and walking over to the electric kettle that sits on a low cabinet near the entrance along with a toaster. The water boils and Betsy pours to cups of tea. She sets one down in front of him and takes the other back to her seat. "There you go, deary."

He wipes his mouth on the napkin. "Thank you."

"Where do you live?"

"Boarding home not too far from here," he lies.

"That's nice." She sips her tea. "What do you plan on doing for a career?"

Oh, tough one. "I plan on going subsea," he says and sips his tea, burning the tip of his tongue.

"Really? The ocean? My, my, you are an adventurous one."

"There's more space down there," he says.

"I don't disagree with you, deary," she says. "I would go down myself, but I'm a little too old to be looking after a farm. But I'm sure you could do just a fantastic job."

The rest of the evening is spent like this over cups of tea with quiet conversations. Richard actually likes Betsy. She's a very nice old lady, acting like how a grandmother might. There is not much room in the apartment, but she still sets up a pile of blankets for Richard to sleep on for the night.

"There you go," she says. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be right in my room."

"Thank you so much, for everything," he says.

"It's my pleasure." Betsy goes into her own room and shuts the door. Richard lies down on the piles of blankets she gave him along with a small square pillow.

In the dark, he contemplates about how he is to get Peter out of the building. Peter won't come out willingly. The only way is to wait for him to come out. But when will that be? Richard has to be back at the Trade Station by tomorrow night.

Stomping from above ruins his concentration. Loud music plays above as if someone is having a party. How anyone could have a party in these small of rooms is beyond Richard.

Betsy opens her door and steps into the living room. "Not again," she says and reaches for a broom that is sitting behind a coat stand. "Every Sunday night." The end of the room she taps the ceiling several times. The music softens considerably.

"What was that about?" he asks and props himself up on his elbows.

"Neighbours," she says bitterly and replaces the broom. "Robert has a poker game every Saturday night. I'm surprised he hasn't been kicked out of the building yet."

Richard stands up and grabs his things. "Excuse me, Ms. Burrows, but I have to go up there."

"And why is that?" she asks.

He shrugs. "I have something to discuss with Robert."

He leaves Betsy's apartment and heads straight for the stairs with renewed confidence in his steps. He strides right up to door 23 and knocks on it. Loud voices speak to each other on the other side.

"That's probably Ed," one says.

Richard waits. The locks on the door are removed. It's opened up fully. He instantly spots Peter sitting in the far corner of the room, shuddering. His clothes are rumpled and his eyes are bloodshot.

"You're not Ed," the man says dumbly. The stench of alcohol is heavy on his breath.

Richard steps into the room.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

He ignores the three men in the room and hauls Peter up onto his feet by the arm.

"Where do you think you're taking him?" A man steps up from the table and stares Richard down. Richard can tell that the man is Robert.

"Far away from here," he answers and pulls Peter towards the door.

"Oh, no you're not," Robert says. "The boy is mine. I'm his guardian."

"Some guardian," Richard retorts. "You dare touch him one more time and it will be the last thing you ever do." He leaves his threat to hang in the air before leaving with Peter walking in front of him. "Sorry I'm late," he whispers to his friend.


	23. Chapter 23: Silence

Chapter Twenty-three

Silence

Richard takes Peter down to Betsy's apartment. She takes one look at the poor boy and ushers them both into her apartment.

"Oh you poor thing," she says and sits Peter down on the cushioned chair. Peter doesn't acknowledge either one of them and stares at the wall. Betsy rushes into the bathroom and runs a cloth under a cold stream of water. She returns and presses it to Peter's bruised cheek. "There you go. Just hold that there. It'll help with the swelling. Are you hungry, deary?"

Richard sits down into the wooden chair. Peter holds the wet cloth to his cheek. His eyes remain fixed on the wall. He doesn't respond.

"Peter?" Betsy asks. Then he shakes his head.

"I'll take care of him," Richard says. "Thanks for all your help." She nods and smiles sadly at Peter, then goes back into her room.

When they are alone, Richard leans onto the table. Peter sniffles and looks down at the table. "Peter?" he asks. He gets no response. "It'd be easier if you would talk to me." Still there's no response. "Are you tired?" A nod. "There's a pile of blankets over here. How 'bout you take them?" Peter doesn't move.

Frustrated, Richard leans back into his chair. "Peter, please, I'm trying to help." After a moment of silence, Richard makes the first move. He pulls Peter out of his seat gently and sets him down on the blankets. "Is that better?" A small nod. "Good. Try to get some sleep, okay? We'll be leaving in the morning."

Richard takes the cushioned chair and sits down it. It's a very long time before Peter finally falls asleep. Richard hopes it will be a peaceful night for them both.

He sleeps in an awkward position in the cushioned chair. He doesn't get much sleep that night, but as long as Peter gets better that's the only thing that matters to him right now.

* * *

><p>In the morning with a stiff neck, Richard gently shakes Peter's arm. He opens his eyes and looks around the room, not quite remembering where he is.<p>

"Feeling any better?" Richard asks.

Peter sits up and draws his knees up to his chest. For the first time he looks up at Richard. He seems a little less shaken than last night. His is visibly more relaxed, but still quiet.

"Are you thirsty?" Peter nods. Richard goes to the small cabinet and pulls out a glass. He fills it up from the bathroom and hands it to Peter. "Better now?" he asks. After the glass is drained, Peter nods. "Good. We should get going now. We have a long way to go yet."

Peter stands up and shuffles to the door. His gait is stiff. It's as if every step he takes pains him. Richard notices that he has no shoes.

"We'll have to get you some shoes on the way," he says. "You can't go walking around barefoot."

Betsy opens her door, dressed for the day with her hand bag clutched close to her body. "Oh, leaving already?"

Richard nods. "I need to get him out of here. Thanks for everything."

"Take care, dearies."

They leave the apartment and make their way onto the street. Peter stays close to Richard's side as they begin to make their way back to the shore. First they stop by at a shoe store, buying the cheapest shoes they can find that fit Peter. After that they begin to continue their way back to the shore. Richard drops off the GPS at a convenient store and leads Peter to the docks.

"The home is nice," Richard says, trying to gain Peter's full attention. "There's lots of room down there. You get your own room. The woman who owns the place, Karen, is very nice. She makes a deal if you don't have any money to pay for it. What do you think of that?" Peter, like always, doesn't answer and continues to look far off.

Richard sighs in exasperation. It's been going on like this for hours. He's had a continuous, one-sided conversation with Peter all the way to the docks. It's rough going for the both of them. Richard is nearing his wit's end. If Peter doesn't start talking soon, Richard will most likely snap. His patience is wearing thin.

Standing up, Richard walks off to the ticket booth. He notices that Peter silently follows, not wanting to be left behind. "Stay there," he says and points back to the bench. "I'm just going to pay our fare." Peter looks back at the bench and shuffles back to it, sitting down rather stiffly.

He pays for the tickets that will ferry them back to the Trade Station. The supply ship Richard travelled with before already left yesterday. It will be another long trip back, but soon everything will get better, hopefully.

The boat arrives and docks safely. Peter follows his friend onto the boat. Richard finds a spot under the covered boat far away from the other travelers. He knows Peter will probably appreciate it.

The ride takes several hours. Richard explains about life at the home and what he does for a living.

"It's just temporary," he says. "I don't think I'll gut fish for the rest of my life. Maybe I'll stake my claim, get a farm and move subsea." Peter nibbles on one of his fingernails. "I would appreciate your input in this matter." He switches fingers.

Eventually Richard stops trying to make Peter talk. He'll talk when he wants to and not any time sooner. Richard can't push him into doing something he doesn't want to do. It's just good to have one of his friends back. Hopefully this will make things easier for them both.

* * *

><p>"And here we are," Richard says. "Welcome to the home."<p>

Of course Peter doesn't see anything except a lone, short building. He frowns and looks around for the home.

"It's under the dock," he says. "It hangs in the water. Come on, I'll show you around." He leads Peter into the small, office building. It'd be best to talk to Karen first before bringing in a stranger. "Stay right here, okay? I'm just going to talk to Karen real quickly and I'll be right back." Peter sits down on one of the chairs and crosses his arms over his chest, hunching over.

Richard enters the home in search of Karen. The lounge is filled with the other residents as they talk to one another and enjoy their last free day before work the next day. Karen is not up here. He goes down to the kitchen in search of Elsa. Perhaps she'll know where Karen is.

"Elsa," he says and steps into the kitchen.

"Yes," she calls out. She turns around, her bright, orange ringlets falling out of the hair net. "Hello, Richard. Where have you been?"

"Mainland," he says. "Do you know where Karen is?"

"Why were you on the mainland?"

"That's not important right now. I need to know where Karen is."

Elsa turns back to the frying food on the stove top. "Last time I checked, she was down in the gym."

"Where's that?"

"Bottom floor. Just keep walking down the stairs. You'll find it."

"Thanks." He whirls around and heads back down the stairs, taking them as quickly as he dares without falling flat on his face.

He makes it down to the gym which is under the garden where Elsa usually grows the fresh fruit and vegetables for dinner. The gym is fully equipped with weights, mats, and several punching bags hanging in various spots around the room. Karen is hard at it on one of the mats, completing a set of sit-ups.

"Karen," he says, "I need a favor."

"What's that?" she asks without breaking her pace.

"Well, I have a friend here, and-"

"And you're wondering if your friend can stay here," she finishes.

"Well, yeah."

"Runaway?"

"Sort of."

"No money then," she guesses.

"Yes."

"Good worker?"

"Now, that I wouldn't know," he says. "He's a changed person right now, a little shaken up."

"Oh. He better be one, though," she says and finishes her set. She stands up wipes her face off with a towel. "If he's not, he can't stay here."

"Why not?"

"I'm a business woman," she says. "Not a babysitter. Either your friend pulls his weight around, or he's out of here."

"I'm sure he'll work, but-"

"But what?" she asks and steps towards him.

"Could it be possible if you gave him one day to settle in?"

Karen gives him a stern look. "Richard-"

"Please. Just one day, that's all I ask for. If it's money, take mine. Just please, let him stay here."

She pushes back her sweaty hair and throws the towel onto her shoulder. "It'll cost you a day's wages, you know that right?" Richard nods. "Okay then. I'll be up in a minute to get your friend signed in."

"Thank you."

Back up the several flights of stairs, Richard hurries back to Peter, who is still patiently sitting on the chair, waiting for Richard's return.

"You're in," he says and sits down beside Peter. "You'll get the day off tomorrow to settle in, but after that you'll be working with me. Does that sound alright?" Peter nods and nibbles on a shortened fingernail. "Good."

Karen arrives and sets up all the papers and agreement concerning wages and lodging. Peter signs his name down on the ledger and receives his room key. His face remains expressionless.

"Come on," Richard says. "I'll show you around." Peter follows Richard into the lounge/dining hall. He explains what goes on, when meal times are, and the work schedule. Then he leads him down to his room which is a floor below Richard's.

"Here we are," he says and leans against the wall. "Why don't you open it up?"

Peter looks down at the key in his hand and looks at the door. He slides the key into the doorknob and twists it. He pushes open the door and enters the room. He walks around it, noting how large it is and the fact that it's all his. Of course his face remains blank and doesn't say anything to Richard. Then he sees the bed. He stares at it for quite a long time and then sits down on it gently, running his hands over the fabric of the blanket.

"Like it?" Richard asks.

Peter nods eagerly. His eyes sweep over the size of the room again before they return to the bed.

"Dinner's at six. I can come down and get you if you want to stay in here."

Peter kicks off his new shoes and pulls himself further on to the bed. Richard understands the message and retreats, closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door is closed and Peter is alone for the first time in his life, his defenses crumble. He curls up onto the bed and hugs the pillow close to his chest. One by one the tears begin to fall. Still Peter remains quiet. He's just so tired from everything that he has no more control over anything. Usually he is quiet and in control of his emotions, but the past few months have been tough. The healing process has just begun and from the looks of it, it will be a long one. Sleep will help him get through most of it. He feels as if he hasn't received a good night's sleep in ages. He closes his eyes.


	24. Chapter 24: Shattered

Chapter Twenty-four

Shattered

After a long day of gutting fish, Richard returns to the home completely exhausted. He didn't sleep well last night as he couldn't stop worrying about Peter. The boy didn't come up for supper last night. When Richard went down, he found Peter curled up on his bed, fast asleep. He left his friend to sleep peacefully; at least he hoped it was peaceful.

He showers and dresses into a pair of clean clothes, then sets off to find Peter. First he checks his room. He knocks on the door. No one answers. He turns the doorknob and peeks into the room. The bed is made and the room is empty. Maybe Peter left. No, no, he wouldn't do that. Richard just got him here. Maybe he decided to walk around the home and get used to it. Peter will be fine on his own.

Richard returns to his room and begins to write his next letter to Gemma.

_Dear Gem,_

_Enclosed is the next portion of your money I got last week. I know Ms. Spinner will take it from you, but I've told you multiple times. This way you won't lose it. Just relax. You'll get it back one day. _

_In answer to your previous letter, yes life here is still great, and no, there is nothing you can do to change your mind. Sorry, Gemma, but this is what I need right now. I wish you could be here though. The sights are amazing! I'm only going to make you jealous so I'll keep it brief. I really like it here._

_Love, Richard_

He responds to the other letters that he has neglected over the weekend. When that task is taken care of, he sets off to track down Peter and see if there's any change in his behavior. First he goes off to find Elsa. If anyone knows where Peter is, it will be her. She stays at the home all day anyway.

He checks the kitchen where she usually is. She isn't there. He goes to the laundry room where she usually is, doing laundry for some of the residents here. And surprise, surprise, there she is, folding laundry and setting them into their appropriate piles for the people they belong to. But she isn't alone. Peter is there with her, listening to her non-stop chattering and working quietly beside her by loading up another washing machine and setting up a dryer.

"Now, I would suggest going to Coldsleep Canyon first," she says. "_Amazing _sights there and really creepy looking sea creatures as well. Now, another cool place to visit is this abandoned structure at the bottom of the ocean I just found, like, two weeks ago. Apparently it's structurally unsafe, but I think it's pretty cool. There's also the largest muck pit I've ever seen by it. You should see the black pearls that I've found there."

Richard's blood turns cold. He knows that structure. It's Seablite. Elsa found Seablite during one of her sea ventures. He can see the look of recognition in Peter's eyes as well. Better change the subject now before Elsa continues.

"Hi, Elsa," he says and steps into the room.

Looking up she smiles. "Hello, Richard."

"What have you two been up to?"

"Lots of stuff," she says. "Peter here has just been the greatest helper ever! I think we should keep him."

"You've been helping, Peter?" Richard asks.

Peter looks up and shrugs.

"And he's a very good listener," Elsa adds. "He just soaks up my words and doesn't say much about anything I have to talk about."

Richard looks over at Peter. He looks much better than he did yesterday. Well rested and relaxed.

"Well, I have to start delivering," Elsa says and picks up one of the laundry baskets and fills it with stacks of clothes. "Thank you for helping me, Peter. I'll be seeing you boys for dinner." She leaves the laundry room as Peter cleans everything up and sets everything into their right place. Richard takes a few steps forward.

"I see you've met the eccentric Elsa," he says. "Hope she wasn't too much for you."

Peter shakes his head. Richard notices that he is still dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, which aren't looking all that fresh anymore. They are wrinkled and frumpy looking. That's a problem they will have to solve. Peter doesn't have any money and won't have any until the next pay day which isn't for two weeks yet. The only solution that Richard can see to this problem is lending a few pairs of clothes to Peter until he can get his own. They will be a little big on the smaller boy, but it's better than nothing.

"Do you like it here?" Richard asks.

Peter nods.

"Good. We should get you some work clothes for tomorrow. Come on, I can give you a few pairs until you get your own." He turns and begins to walk out of the laundry room and back to his own. He stops when he hears his own name called out. It's so quiet he could barely hear it.

"Richard?"

He turns and looks at Peter, who is running a hand down his scar. Richard sees him struggling for words.

"Sorry," he says so quietly it's hard to make out.

"What are you sorry for?" he asks.

"Sorry," the boy repeats. "Should've left, should've listened to you."

"It's not your fault," he responds.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Come on, let's get you some new clothes."

As Richard leaves the laundry room with Peter following, he can't help but smile. Peter is talking. In short sentences yes, but it's an improvement from yesterday.

After digging out the two smallest pairs of clothes that Richard has, he passes them off to Peter, who nods his thanks and shuffles off to his room. Late that evening, Peter does arrive for dinner and sticks close to Richard's side. There are a lot of strange people at the home that he hasn't had a chance to meet yet. He shifts on his seat often. Richard also notices that when he can, he keeps his hand resting on his neck to cover up most of the scar. He doesn't want the others to see it. The sight will cause questions, questions that Peter will be uncomfortable answering. Richard is probably the only lucky one who came out of Seabilte. Since his hair grew back, he hasn't had to use his Dark Gift anymore. His scar is perfectly hidden underneath his hair. Hopefully he'll never have to use his Gift ever again. All it brought was pain.

That night Richard isn't able to sleep. He wants to sleep. He knows he has to sleep. His body just doesn't agree with him, so he lies awake in his bed until one in the morning. He kicks off his sheets and walks upstairs. Despite the fact that the sounds of the ocean used to scare him, he now finds them calming.

Up in the lounge, he sits down on one of the couches and looks out into the murky ocean. It's a quiet night. No fish darts across the clear wall tonight. If one does, it appears quite panicked and quickly scampers off as if a predator is chasing it. Then a flash of light appears. A dim, white light and then a red one just as quick. Red devil squids. Just like the ones Elsa usually plays with.

Looking down at one of his hands, he decides to have some fun of his own. Might as well to occupy his time while he can't sleep. He first tests it, trying to get the flashes of red and white just right. It's been over a year since he used his Gift. He's always been afraid of it. It just reminds him of his confinement and, of course, Doc. He runs a hand through his hair, feeling the raised skin there. He traces it, getting lost in the thoughts of it all. He snaps himself out of it, taking away his hand.

He tests his Gift a few more times until his hand can mimic the pattern of a red devil squid. He sticks his hand up against the clear wall and holds it there. A squid responds to his call and approaches. It's mesmerized by Richard's hand and just floats slowly by the wall. Its large eye stares back at him as it glows back at him. Staring back at the magnificent creature, he doesn't realize that his arm begins to take the colour of the squid. It creeps up his arm. The squid responds by reaching out one of its tentacles and touching the wall where Richard's arm is positioned. It hovers there for a moment until someone arrives and shatters the peace between them.

"Richard?" Elsa asks. "What are you-" After one glance at Richard's arm, Elsa is at a loss for words for the first time in her life.

Richard snaps to attention. The squid spurts some ink and dives away back into the ocean depths. He stops using his Gift and lets his arm return to his normal skin colour.

"Elsa," he says, "hi."

The girl is quite shocked. She looks at Richard and backs away. "What-what was that?"

"What was what?" he asks innocently, hoping that he can get out of this mess.

"Your arm!" she says. "It was flashing red and white. What was that?"

He's caught red handed. His heart is pounding away in his chest as he tries to come up with an excuse to explain this phenomenon. "I can explain all of this." He takes a few steps towards her, holding his hands up in front of him so she could see he isn't going to hurt her.

"Don't come any closer," she says, holding her hand up to stop him. He stops. "Just don't come near me." She presses her fingertips to her temples. "What are you really?"

Richard flinches. Those words sting. What is he? He's a freak. That's what he is. Plain and simple.

"I-I don't know," he answers truthfully. "I don't, okay? And I would appreciate it if you wouldn't freak out about this."

"How can I not freak out?" she asks. "I see you with your arm glowing, Richard. _Glowing!_ How can I not freak out?"

"If you give me some time, I can explain it," he says as calmly as he can without his voice breaking.

She shakes her head. "No, no, I don't want to hear it."

"But-"

"Don't," she responds firmly.

"This is just as hard for you to understand as it is for me," he says. "I'm the one who has to live with it. It's a constant reminder that I'm not normal and that I'll never be normal. Please, Elsa, I need you to understand."

Elsa shakes her head, pursing her lips together in a tight line. "No, no, I just can't. Not now."

"Elsa, please," he whispers.

"Richard, don't. I can't do this right now. Just stay away from me for now. I need some time to think about this." Elsa turns away quickly and rushes back down the stairs.

Richard sinks onto the couch again, resting his head in his hands. He shouldn't have shown his Gift. It only causes more problems. And this problem will take a long time to fix, assuming it can be fixed.


	25. Chapter 25: Explanations

Chapter Twenty-five

Explanations

Richard's life seems to spiral out of control quite often now-a-days. Not only does he have to deal with a frightened Peter (which he doesn't mind doing), but he has the problem with Elsa. She was obviously freaked out about his 'display' the night before and since then, she has completely avoided him. Her bubbly self is no longer, and when she and Richard cross paths, she looks down at the floor and ignores him. Richard wants to explain to her what she saw, but this will be the very first time he has told anyone about his Dark Gift.

That in itself will lead to more questions. How long have you had it? When did you first notice it? Does anyone else know? How did you get it? He doesn't know that answer to the last question. He would have to talk about Seablite then, which he isn't willing to do. He doesn't know what to do.

He turns his attention back to Peter, who is standing across the table from him. He works quite well when gutting fish. He caught on quickly and is much more efficient than when Richard first started. The knife is just an extension of Peter's hand. He is visibly more relaxed and the dark circles under his eyes have gone away. Still he rarely speaks, but it's one step at a time from here. Richard doesn't think his friend will ever fully recover from his ordeal, whatever it was. He's just glad that he has someone in the home with him, who understands the pain he's going through.

The day goes by very smoothly until they return to the home. He doesn't know if Elsa has told Karen about the incident and he's hoping she hasn't. He has enough problems on his hands already. He decides to confront Elsa about it later before this whole thing blows out of proportion. He'll wait until everyone else is asleep and talk with Elsa up in the lounge like they usually do. During the time he waits, he plans out what he will probably say. It sounds good in his head, but he knows when he starts speaking, words will most likely fail him. Planning it out just makes him feel better on the inside, more prepared.

Later that night once everyone has gone done for the night, Richard makes his way up to the lounge. He peeks around the corner from where he stands in the stairwell. Elsa is there like she always is, curled up on one of the couches with a book open in her lap. She doesn't notice Richard as he silently makes his way into the lounge. Only when he sits on the couch does she look up from her book.

"Richard," she says, "... I didn't hear you come in." She brushes aside the bright pink, straight hair that falls into her eyes. "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed now. I'm kind of tired." She closes her book and stands up.

"Sit down," he says, watching her as she tenses up. "I think we have some things to clear up between the two of us."

She does sit down, but remains in a position that requires minimal effort to get up and leave quickly. "What do you want to talk about then?"

"About last night," he says and leans forward on his knees, "I know I freaked you out."

"Freaked out?" she repeats. "Freaked out? You did more than freak me out, Richard!"

"Shhh. Keep it down. Do you want the whole home to wake up?"

She rolls her eyes. "Do you have a better suggestion? 'Cause I feel like I'm going to be yelling a lot at you tonight."

"Wanna step outside?"

She shrugs and starts to head for the door leading outside. He follows her at a distance, being mindful that she might want some space to move around.

Outside in the cooler night air, Elsa walks up and down the boardwalk several times before Richard can begin to explain himself. Then he does, from beginning to end, only leaving out certain details such as his escape from Seablite and the fact that he was experimented on. When he's finished, he steps away from Elsa, turning his back on her, pushing down all the emotions that have started to rise up inside of him. But he feels better, surprisingly. There's less on his shoulders now. His burdens have been lifted, somewhat.

"So," Elsa says. "Let me get this straight. This Gift that you have affects some part of your brain which allows you to-" she waves her hand at him "-do whatever that's called. Why is that again?"

"Water pressure," he says and looks over his shoulder at her. She's running her hands through her hair, trying to understand all of this. "It affects not fully developed brains and causes abnormalities in the body that are related to marine life."

"Are they visible abnormalities?" she asks.

Richard shrugs. "The ones that I have seen are because of simple brain changes. I'm the only person that I know of who has something physical to show off."

"Will… will this happen to me?" She looks down at her fingernails and picks at the vibrant pink nail polish on her fingernails.

From the look in her eyes, Richard sees that she's scared. She doesn't want to become like him, a freak, an outcast.

"Maybe," he says. "Maybe not. I don't know if you're deep enough for the water pressure to affect your brain. You probably won't get one."

She nods and looks up at him, taking a few steps closer. "Can I see it again? I think the first time was a little too flashy for my taste."

He smiles and nods. Holding up his arm, he makes a small fish appear and sends it swimming across his skin. Elsa stares at it for a good long time, never getting closer, never moving away, but staying in the same spot.

"It's weird," she finally says. "How do you live with it?"

"I don't know. It's part of me forever. I lived Topside for a couple of months and it never did go away. I don't think there'll ever be a cure for this."

"Hm," she says. "So there are more of you out there?"

He nods. "Peter does. Don't talk to him about it though. It's a really sore subject for him to talk about."

"Why's that?"

He shrugs, giving himself some time to think up a lie and quick. "He had a harder time accepting his Gift than the others did. He also had a rough home life so that didn't exactly help."

"Okay." She picks at her fingernails again. "I'm sorry for freaking out yesterday. I just don't know what to think about it yet."

"I can understand why you did," he says. "It would've freaked anyone out."

"How do you live with it? I mean it must've taken a while for you to get used to it."

That's a hard question to answer. How does he live with it? "I don't know," he answers. "I tried to forget about it after I came back to live Topside, but I could never really forget about it. There's this thought in the back of my head that always reminds me that I'm different from the others. That I'm a..." He trails off.

"That you're some sort of freak," she finishes then adds, "You're always set apart from the others."

He nods and rubs the back of his neck. "It's not easy."

"I bet," she says. "Have you told anyone else that you have this... Gift?"

He shakes his head. "You're the first. It's a hard thing to come out with. I think it would scare people off."

She smiles a little, understanding where he's coming from. "It is quite shocking at first. I bet you were pretty scared when you first discovered it."

That's for sure. He remembers it all too well when he was in a fight with another inmate and his skin went completely red. "I was," he admits. "Wouldn't you be freaked out if your skin started changing colours?"

She chuckles. "Probably. I think I'll stick with changing my nail and hair colour, if you don't mind. Skin is a little too drastic for me."

"Can I ask you something?"

She nods. "Anything you want, but not in that sense if you know what I mean."

"Can you keep this to yourself? I don't want the others to find out. I wouldn't be able to handle everyone at once."

"Sure," she says. "I can keep a secret." She smoothes out her hair and the wrinkles in her clothes before looking Richard in the eye. "I'm glad that we've got this all cleared up now. I don't feel as weirded out as before. If that's all we need to talk about, I think I'll go to bed now. I've got a busy day tomorrow." She turns and heads back into the home.

As soon as she's gone, Richard sighs deeply. At least that's over. Now he can relax. Everything went well. Elsa was surprisingly calm despite the fact that Richard had scared the daylights out of her the other day. Now he can focus on other more important things, like getting Peter to act a little more normal, or less cold.

He meanders his way back to the home, taking his time.

"Richard?" a voice asks behind him.

He turns around to face the speaker. A young boy stands in front of him. He can't be more than fourteen years old. Richard blinks once, then twice. He knows this boy, this poor, small, and vulnerable boy. "Trevor? What are you doing here?"

The boy shrugs. He sets down the duffle bag he carries on the wooden planks. "I ran away," he answers and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Came here, looking for you."

"Why?"

"Because you have it good out here," he says. "You actually know what you're doing."

"No, I don't," he says.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't," he says again. "I don't know what I'm doing. I left the boarding home on impulse. I had nothing with me other than a backpack full of clothes. Even now I barely have anything. I don't know what I'm doing, Trevor."

"At least you have a chance now!" Trevor shouts. "I had no chance of surviving back _there. _I left because of you. I came here because I knew how good you have it out here compared to the rest of us."

Richard shakes his head. "You don't understand, Trevor."

"What? What don't I understand?"

"You don't understand that no matter what I told you in those letters, I still don't know what I'm doing with my life. Sure, I can see myself gutting fish for a few years, but I don't want to do that for the rest of my life. I can't live in the ocean because I don't know the first thing about how to live out here."

"It's still better than having every one stare at you like your some sort of freak," Trevor mumbles. "At least you can hide your scar. The rest of us aren't so lucky, Richard." He picks up his bag and starts to walk off to the home. "I don't care what say, Richard. I'm staying whether you want me to or not."

"I didn't say that I don't want you to stay," Richard says.

Trevor stops in his tracks and turns to face him. "What do you want to say to me then?"

Richard shrugs. "I don't know. I guess I'm just warning you that this life isn't any better than your old one. It has just as many bad things about it than the stack cities."

"Yeah, but there's one difference between them that I care about only."

"What's that?"

"Less people."


	26. Chapter 26: Reunions

Chapter Twenty-six

Reunions

With the arrival of Trevor, Peter seems a little more relaxed than when he first arrived. Now there are two people who understand his pain and misery. It makes the home that much more comfortable. And the fact that he no longer has to see his uncle makes it even brighter. The bruises have faded, the nightmares have started to go away (of him at least), and the tension in his shoulders has melted away. Then why doesn't he feel normal? Why doesn't he feel better about himself and his current situation? The more he thinks about it, the clearer it becomes. Seablite. That's his answer.

Ever since Seablite he feels different. Something snapped on the inside when he was operated on and it never really healed. Doc and his medical team only reminded him that he was nothing to the world. He was only another orphaned, street rat that didn't matter to anyone. He had no purpose, no future, nothing to his name. It's not like he hasn't heard those words every day since his parents' deaths, so why not operate on a nobody? No one will care. No one will even notice.

His reflection in the mirror stares back at him. He barely recognizes himself. He's changed so much in just a few years that it's scary. The scar is the most prominent feature and always draws his attention when he looks into a mirror. Then there are the usual rings under his eyes from sleepless nights. Once or twice in the morning his eyes were red and puffy, but that was a rare occurrence. And there's the fact that he is a little thin. The clothes he has hangs on him loosely. That may be his fault since one in a while he will skip dinner to have some alone time, otherwise known as Peter's avoidance time when he doesn't want to deal with anyone.

His hair is still short, much to his annoyance. He wants it long again. It'll hide the scar that way. His uncle insisted that he keep it short. Long hair, apparently, made him appear dishevelled, and of course Uncle Robert couldn't have a dishevelled ward on his hands. Think of his reputation! It could have been ruined!

He shakes his head. No, he's not normal anymore and he never will be. His old self is dead. Nothing remains except a cold hard shell of the former Peter. He shouldn't even call himself Peter anymore if his old self is dead. He can give himself a new identity down here. No one really knows who he is. He can be who he wants to be. He'll grow out his hair to cover that ugly scar. Then he'll think up a new name for himself. Soon he'll be a brand new person.

Richard waits for Peter in the sub. Trevor is already settled in to start his first full day of work. Peter slips in quickly and sits down beside Richard. The sub hatch is closed and begins to dive for the fishery.

"Sleep in?" Richard asks.

Peter shakes his head. "It's nothing."

"You sure?"

He rolls his eyes. "I'm fine." Sometimes Richard can be a little smothering.

They reach the fishery and get out their equipment. Richard teaches Trevor how to gut fish and leaves the boy to do his own thing, while constantly watching him of course. He picks up his own knife and begins to gut the fish that are being spilled onto the table. It's all automatic now. He doesn't have to think about the actions. It's all so simple to him.

"Do you think the others will come here?" Peter asks.

Richard looks up from the table and across to Peter. "What do you mean?"

He flicks his eyes in the direction of Trevor, who is having troubles grasping the technique of sliding his knife in.

"No, no, no," Richard says and turns to the young boy. "Like this." He demonstrates the simple move by sliding his knife in by the head of the fish and sliding down to its tail. "See?" Trevor nods and goes back to his own fish.

Richard looks back at Peter. "What were you going to say?"

"Do you still write to the others?"

He nods. "All but Eli. I don't know where he is."

Peter nods. "Do you think the others will come to the home? Trevor did."

Richard shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not."

"What would you do if the others came here?"

He sighs. "I don't know."

"What if-"

Richard sighs again and sets down his knife with a loud _thump_. "Peter, stop. I'm not in the mood."

Peter mumbles something under his breath and turns his full attention back to his work. The rest of the day is quiet between the two. Richard doesn't know what to say to Peter right now on the subject of what if the others arrive. They can do whatever they want. It is no concern of Richard's. He's living his own life. They can live theirs. All he wants is to be left alone for the time being. With everything going on it has been quite stressful to Richard at the moment. Letters and dealing with distressed friends. Then there's the whole Elsa ordeal. Even though Elsa is somewhat accepting of what Richard is, he's still afraid that she might blab about it to everyone at the home. Knowing Elsa, there is a pretty good chance she might do that.

As the day goes on, Trevor's skill progresses. He's able to grasp the concepts of how to gut a fish properly. He complains about the smell, but not too loudly that everyone will hear. Mostly he stays quiet and frowns sometimes when someone speaks to him. He's just as socially awkward as Richard and Peter.

Eventually the work day ends and they go back to the home. Trevor is nearly asleep by the time the sub breaches the surface of the water. Richard nudges him gently. "Time to go," he says.

Trevor stretches and yawns. He gathers his stuff and clambers out of the sub. Richard follows him, making sure that the young boy didn't fall flat on his face. The first day is the toughest for everyone.

"Tired?" he asks.

Trevor nods. "Does it get easier?"

Richard nods. "After your first week, everything gets a lot easier. Just take your time. Don't rush it."

He nods again and stretches. "Hey, Richard?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the advice, and for all the help."

Richard blinks. "Yeah. No problem."

Outside on the dock, Richard finally finds some peace and quiet. There are a million thoughts running around in his mind and he can't seem to keep everything straight and in order. Everything seems to be a priority all at once. There's Gemma to worry about, all of his friends who talk to him through letters, Peter and Trevor, Elsa, and the fact that he hasn't heard a word from Eli. Eli has always been a worry. Perhaps he's dead. He's probably been dead for months and Richard is worrying about nothing. He loses sleep about it constantly. Some days he just doesn't want to have any of these worries. Maybe it's better to forget. Peter can always make him forget. He does have that hypnotism ability.

He sits down on the dock and dips his legs into the water. He lies down on his back and rubs his face. All he wants is sleep. He's so tired, so tired of everything. Problems keep popping up and they don't seem to go away. Someday Richard thinks all the burdens he has will sink him next time he goes for a dive.

The sounds of a heated argument float down to where he lies on the wooden planks. He doesn't catch any of the words since he is too far away, but the sound of skin meeting skin definitely catches his attention. Groaning, he sits up and rolls his shoulders before getting to his feet. He decides to pay a visit to this 'scuffle' to see if he can help solve it.

There indeed is a group of large men surrounding a slender younger man, near Richard's age. The three larger men close in around the younger man as they pin him against the wall of a supply shed.

"Where's the money?" one the men asks and holds a nasty looking hook in one hand.

"I can get it for you," the younger one replies. "I just need more time."

"We already gave it to you," another man says. "You owe us."

"Business is slow," the young says, trying to reason with the others. "Just give me two more days. I can get you your money by then. I just need time."

"Alright," the man with the hook says, "we'll give you your two days. But just so you remember your deal, we'll be taking a _souvenir _for the mean time." He puts his hook away and pulls out a wicked looking knife. The young man's hand is held out before the knife. The blade is placed just against the base of his peter pointer where palm meets finger.

Richard steps in. "Drop the knife," he says, low and deep.

"Leave it, kid," one man says. "This ain't your business."

"I said, drop the knife. I don't think Karen would be all that happy to have blood on her dock."

A man breaks away from the group and comes over to confront Richard. "And we said leave. This ain't your business."

Richard rolls his eyes pushes past the man to stop the knife before it goes any further. Before he can make his second step, he is pulled back by his shirt and is whirled around to meet a fist aimed for his face.

"Looks like you need to learn some manners." The man shakes out his fist. Richard only touches his split lip before retaliating with a well-aimed hit of his own right to the man's nose. With the shoveling of muck when he was young and the constant exercises he pushes himself to do, he successfully broke the man's nose. But the man is much tougher than he appears to be, and Richard realizes that.

Taking no chances, Richard charges the man and grips him around the waist before taking him off the dock and into the water below. In the water, Richard feels a little more comfortable. He dunks the man under the water and holds him there until he begins to flail his arms. He lets the man back up and drags him back onto the dock so that he can cough out all the water in his lungs.

With one man subdued, Richard stands and faces the others. They see what he did to their friend and decide to leave the young man alone. They take their water logged friend with them and leave the dock, disappearing into the night.

Richard steps towards the young man to see if he is alright. "Are you okay?" he asks.

The young man looks up and grins before nodding. Two teeth are missing from his set of almost perfect, white teeth. "Perfectly fine," he says.

The voice catches Richard off guard. He frowns and then looks at the young man again. He's a little bit thinner than they've last seen each other, of course that was over a year ago. His black hair is tangled and in a mess as usual, but it seems far worse than before.

"Eli? Is that you?"

Eli laughs. "I was wondering when you were going to notice," he says and steps away from the building he was cornered against. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

Richard nods. He's so stunned that Eli's here. He doesn't know what to say. 'Where have you been?"

"Don't you mean why haven't I written you any letters?" he asks and picks up a backpack that was probably tossed away when Eli was cornered by the three men.

"Kind of."

Eli shoulders the backpack. "I didn't have the resources."

"Why didn't you just ask someone from the boarding home you were in?"

He shakes his head. "You don't understand, Richard," he says and begins to walk off. "I never lived in a boarding home."

Eli walks off away from Richard. He follows, intending to get some information out from him. "What do you mean?" he asks. "Where have you been living for the past few months?"

"Years," Eli corrects. "I haven't lived in a boarding home in years."

This shocks Richard at first. He remembers back in Seablite Eli told him that he lived in a Commonwealth boarding home. If he hasn't been living in one for years, then how has Eli survived? By common logic he should be dead at least ten times by now. Life in the stack cities is tough, especially if you don't have a place to sleep for the night.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Richard asks. "I could've helped you out."

Eli shakes his head. "I ran away from the boarding homes when I was ten. I hated those places. Too many kids were crawling around and it didn't help that all the workers sucked at their jobs whenever one of us younger kids was being beaten on by the older kids. So I ran and never looked back, happy now, Richard?"

Eli stops walking and looks back at him. "I'm a street rat, Richard. I can take care of myself." He turns away again and begins to walk away.

"Trevor and Peter are here," Richard says. "The others aren't doing well either."

He stops again. "Where are they?"

Richard points back in the direction of the home. "There's this seaside home a little ways back. That's where we're staying for now."

He nods. "Lucky you. What about the others?"

"Still in the cities," he answers. "If you want, you can stay here. Karen won't mind. She cuts deals with people all the time."

Eli looks back in the direction of the home wistfully. Maybe he can stay for just one night. It would be nice to sleep on something other than tar on the rooftops or hard asphalt and concrete. He looks back at Richard. Maybe it's time to stop running. Maybe it's time to take a break from the street life.

"So who's the lady that makes the deals?" he asks.

Richard offers him a smile. "Right this way."


	27. Chapter 27: Hope

Chapter Twenty-seven

Hope

It has been two days since Eli arrived, quite by accident really. He's thinner than Richard remembers, with a few more scars as well, and not to mention the two missing teeth. Eli sure has gotten around during the past year, but still Richard's friend is no better off than the rest of them. He still carries the scar from Seablite and looks as if he doesn't sleep well at night. But then again who does these days?

Despite the pain that Eli carries, it never seems to dampen his spirit during the day time. He smiles and often talks to Elsa. Of course those two chatter boxes never stop once they get started. But night always offers a different story.

Richard sits upstairs on the couches usually with the TV on softly. He yawns and stretches out on the couch, enjoying the privacy he's able to steal away for a couple of hours. Eventually someone joins him and sits down on the other side of the couch.

"Can't sleep?" Richard asks and looks over at Eli.

"Who does?" he replies. "So, how long have you been here?"

"A year," he says and looks back at the TV. "You like it so far?"

From the corner of his eye he sees Eli nod. "Good pay," he says. "Good company too."

"Is Elsa bothering you yet?"

"Nah, she's nice. Reminds me of how nice people used to be." Eli slides down against the back of the couch. He looks over at Richard and asks, "What are we doing with our lives, Richard?"

"What'd you say?"

Eli reaches up and rubs his eyes wearily. "What are we doing here? Is this what we're going to be doing for the rest of our lives?"

It's a fair question that even Richard can't answer. He hasn't given it much thought. It's a temporary lifestyle, isn't it?

"I don't know," Richard says. "I don't want to gut fish for the rest of my life."

"And if you do?"

Richard doesn't respond.

"I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life, Richard," he says quietly.

"Well what do you want me to say?" Richard asks. "I don't have all the answers, Eli."

Eli backs down. He opens his mouth to say something but closes it again. After a few minutes in silence Eli finally says, "Do you think there's any hope for us?"

Richard sighs and closes his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean is there any hope for us from Seablite? Is there any hope for us to become successful in life?"

Why does Eli torment him like this? Why does he have to ask the most difficult questions? Richard doesn't know if he'll be successful in life. The odds aren't exactly in his favour.

"I don't know," he says. "There are a lot of things I don't know, Eli."

"I doubt it then," Eli mumbles. "We're nothing but a bunch of freaks with no future."

That wraps up the conversation quite quickly. Richard has nothing to say in response because deep down he knows it's true. There's no hope for them. He just doesn't want to admit it yet. He doesn't want to believe that this is as far as he'll get in life. This isn't the end, is it?

"There are other options than just gutting fish, Eli," Richard says.

"Like what?"

He shrugs. "Prospecting, fishing, farming."

"Farming?"

"You know," Richard says. "We stake our claim and a hundred acres of farmable ocean is ours. There are options."

"Not very good ones," he says.

Tired and exhausted, Richard sighs. "Then what do you want? Obviously there aren't many choices out there."

"That's not what I meant," Eli says and sits up. "What I meant was I don't want to be giving anything back to the 'wealth. They took enough from us, didn't they? It's about time they pay us back."

So that's what Eli was getting at. It sounds more like a revenge plot, but who hasn't been planning revenge these days?

"How do you suggest we get them back?" Richard asks. "Everyone works for the 'wealth. There is no way we can escape them."

"We don't have to escape them," Eli says simply. "All we have to do is be a thorn in their side."

"Which they'll eventually pluck," Richard says. "There's no way we can buck the 'wealth. They always win in the end."

"Don't knock until you've tried it," he responds. "I just want to see them pay for what they did to us."

Richard nods. He understands where Eli is coming from. He often thinks of that himself. He lost four years of his life and a part of himself. He could've been a different person today if he didn't end up in Seablite. But he can't dwell on the 'what ifs' of his life. Too much time will be wasted if he does. Right now he has to worry about his future and what he'll do with it.

"I've got an idea," Richard says.

Eli looks over at him and yawns. "What is it?"

Richard leans in and whispers his sudden plan to Eli. The younger one is quiet for a moment as he thinks about it. It's a good plan if a little rough around the edges. It can certainly use some polishing, but it sounds like a good plan.

"How will we be able to pull it off?" Eli asks. "We don't have the gear."

"We'll get it," Richard says. "With the money we all have saved up that can get us pretty far.

"And to think that there's only four of us here," Eli says sarcastically. "Your dreams are a little big, don't you think?"

"There are four of us here now," he says. "Soon there will be seven of us?"

"Wait, seven? How- ohhh. I get it."

Richard smiles. It's the perfect way to get everyone together and to get some payback from the 'wealth. All they need now is some time, money, and a little bit of luck.

The word is sent out the next day in the next batch of letters. His letters to Ace, Henry, and Kyle have a clear meaning. Come to the Trade Station. Richard has a plan. He hopes that everyone will be here by the end of the week. It will be good to see everyone again. It'll be like in Seablite when they plotted an escape plan. Only this time will have a few more challenging parts to it. But at least they won't have any prison guards to worry about this time.

Eli and Richard fill in Peter and Trevor about the plan so far. Both of them think it's a good idea. It's just what they've been waiting for, a way to make the pain go away, at least partially. It isn't a perfect plan yet, but soon it will be. Once Ace arrives, Richard will have someone else to help him figure out the rest of this plan. No offense to the rest of his friends, it's just that Ace came up with the escape plan in Seablite and he's bound to have some more brilliant plans stored away in his head.

The days of the week roll by slowly. Eventually Henry arrives. He looks a little worse for wear and has grown a lot in the past year. He's almost as tall as Richard and almost as bulky as well. Probably his Dark Gift since Henry resembles a bull shark, all brute strength.

The next day Kyle arrives. He's a little more well-mannered than the others. Richard can already think up of ways Kyle's well-mannered nature can be put to good use. He will probably make a good con artist in the future.

Finally Ace arrives. He comes late at night, probably around ten or eleven. Richard is the only one up to greet him. Ace looks absolutely horrid. He's added a few more piercings to his collection, one on his eyebrow, one on his nose and a few more to both his ears. And to top it all off he has another tattoo. This is of a Jack of Spades which sits itself on the opposite arm of his Ace of Spades tattoo.

"You made it out," Richard says as he walks to his friend.

Ace shrugs and dumps his bag on the dock and steps over to the water. "I couldn't exactly say no to your invitation," he says.

It doesn't surprise Richard that Ace sounds bitter and cold. It's been a tough year for them all. "Well thanks for coming," Richard says and stands beside his friend.

"Your idea is insane by the way," Ace says. "What makes you think we can pull it off?"

"We got out of Seablite, didn't we? Besides, we've got the motivation and the manpower."

Ace finishes the statement. "All we need now is the equipment." He sighs and brushes back the black hair that continues to fall into his eyes. "When do we start?"

"As soon as we can."

Ace nods. "Okay. Tomorrow it is." He steps over to his bag and picks it up before heading into the home. People leave and arrive at the home all the time so Richard isn't worried that Karen will become suspicious of all the new arrivals. She's just happy to have the business and some new workers.

"See you in the morning," Ace says as he steps into the home.

Richard stays out on the dock for a few moments yet. With his friends by his sides he finally feels like things are going his way. But with his luck, he knows it won't last for long.


	28. Chapter 28: Pain

Chapter Twenty-eight

Pain

So the plans begin to form as the boys and young men figure out what they need to do to perfect their master plan. First thing to figure out is mode of transportation. That one is easy. They'll take a submarine. The next thing is they form a list of what they'll need on the sub, assuming that the sub will become their permanent home. The list includes: dive gear, weapons, food, medical supplies, room for their own personal belongings, and the like. Third is to find out what parts they need to build the submarine. That last task will take the longest. Everything else they can figure out after the sub is built and they are ready to depart.

The weekends are spent locating the parts they need. Of course being who they are- all city bred- they have no idea what to look for. So instead they check out other subs to gain inspiration of what they have to build. Richard finds out that Rex, the older man in the home has a way with subs. Whenever one of the subs breaks down, Rex is on the job. Richard offers to help and Rex accepts the offer.

"Ever worked on a sub before?" Rex asks as he pulls out his toolbox.

Sadly, Richard shakes his head.

Rex only smiles and waves Richard over to where he stands with the toolbox. "I won't be fixing these rust buckets forever," he says. "It's about time one of you younger fellows learned how."

The next few hours are spent working on the sub, making sure everything is running well and at optimal level. Richard is grateful for the time spent on the machine. To him, machines are easier to understand. The parts all work together. Humans are much more complicated. They have emotions which can flip-flop all the time. Machines don't have emotions and are therefore easier to understand. He hopes that one day they will have enough knowledge to build a sub using a cheap scrapper that they will have to purchase from somewhere. It's not much but it's a start.

That is what the weekends are like. The boys learn about the internal structure of a submarine and how to make it run smoothly and efficiently. They have to make sure that the sub they are going to pilot is completely silent when it glides through the water. That way they can take their victims by surprise. That means they'll have to find an engine system that gives them the ability to glide through the water. Sea creatures glide through the water. Their movements are so swift and silent. Nobody will be able to detect them if their sub mimics the ways of a sea creature. That is when Trevor showed his idea to Richard.

Trevor is actually a bright but misunderstood boy. He's smart in academics and can usually answer any questions given to him. The world of math and science makes sense to him. People don't. That's how he ended up in Seablite. Being the bright and misunderstood boy he is, the boys at the boarding home he lived in and the ones at school felt inferior to his brain superiority; well that is what he thought. This often resulted in Trevor ending up in fights. One particularly bad one left one kid ending up in the hospital and Trevor being sent to Seablite. He was an angry boy and at times still is. But instead of lashing out, he keeps his rage inside. That's what Seablite taught him, that no one really cares about you anymore. You are all alone in this world and cannot rise above what you are, a street rat with no future.

Trevor has been looking at different types of subs that sometimes dock near the home. All of them have their own unique signature, stating where they were made. While the owners of the sub are off conducting business (usually with Karen since she is the only big name, business woman on this Trade Station), Trevor snoops around the subs, checking them out for ideas. The basic framework is simple, something with rounded edges that can cut through water with little resistance. That is their end goal. It has to be big enough to house all seven of them so somehow that has to work its way into the design.

After he gathers all of this vital information, Trevor stats to draw the design of what their future home should look like. He starts out with the most basic design of a sub he can think of. It's round like all the others with two sections, one above for sleeping and one below for everything else. So far that's what he thinks it should look like. It's a basic design. Now personality has to be added to it.

They all want it to be fearsome looking. They want people to tremble when they see their sub gliding past. Trevor racks his brain to think of the most terrifying sea creature in the ocean. He thinks of a giant squid, but when he sees it on paper, he realizes that the design would be too complicated to build. So he moves onto types of fish and finally stumbles upon what he thinks is the perfect design for the sub: a great white shark.

After this is done, Richard is approached by the boy one night as he lounges on the couch in the lounge area of the home. Everyone else is already in their rooms for the night so it makes it the perfect time for both of them to talk about their plans. This way no one knows what they're planning.

Richard is nearly asleep when Trevor decides to drop by, nearly making Richard jump out of his skin when the younger boy sits down on the couch.

"Don't do that again," Richard says wearily as his heartbeat begins to slow.

"Sorry," Trevor mumbles. "I, uh, I thought you'd like to see this." He gives Richard a piece of paper upon which lies a drawing of what Trevor thinks their future home will and should look like.

He looks down at the piece of paper for quite some time. The drawing is really well-done. It shows measurements and labels of where things could possibly go. It has two levels. The top is where they will sleep and keep their belongings. The bottom level is where their day-to-day activities will be conducted. Then he takes in the structure of the sub. It's in the shape of a shark, a great white shark to be exact. The mouth of the shark is slightly open with what appears to be a big bubble lodged in its mouth.

"That's where the bridge would be," Trevor says. "It'll be tinted so that no one can see inside."

"How does it propel itself?" Richard asks.

"That's what got me thinking of a different type of system that doesn't use propellers or any of that type of stuff you would see on a normal sub." Trevor produces a notepad and flips it open, showing Richard his drawings for the propulsion system of their sub. "It's a system of artificial muscles that would be put in between the inner and outer hull of the tail end of the sub here-" he points to the tail of the sub. "Now, the muscles would vibrate against the water. It would be a system of vibrations that would move from beginning to end and continue that pattern. The vibrations would cause the water to move around the sub and force it to move forward through the water. For turning the sub a series of connections would force the tail to move from side to side. The vibrations would change and respond to the movement, turning the sub in the direction it's being directed to go to."

"And you think this will work?"

Trevor shrugs. "I can test it using some of the gear in the shop, but it makes sense, to me anyways. What do you think of it?"

Richard hands back the notepad and the sketch. "I think it's a good idea. It has everything we need. I think the others will like it."

"It's the best way," Trevor says. "It shouldn't be too hard to build."

Richard shakes his head. "It shouldn't be. All we have to do is find something we can build off of."

"And then we can attach the muscles to the framework. I'll work on the designs some more once we have the body of the sub to work off. When do you think we'll get the sub?"

Richard rubs his eyes and groans. Sometimes this whole matter is just too much for Richard to handle. "We can try on the weekend; hit some of the bigger Trade Stations out there. It might take a while."

Trevor nods. "That's all I have to show you I guess."

Richard nods as well. "We'll head out then once the work week is up. We'll pool our money together and see if that's enough to buy a scrapper."

"That should be good enough," he mutters and stands. "See you in the morning." He wanders off to the stairs.

Richard stays up for a while longer. The added stress of figuring out how to bring all the parts of the plan together to make it work is slowly killing him. He'll be happy when it's all over and they're on their way again.

He goes down to his room and flops down on his bed. Eventually his foot connects with the door and he kicks it shut. He heaves himself further onto the bedcovers and slides down underneath them. It's time to get some sleep. But a floor below him two people are far from sleeping.

Eli walks up to Peter's room and knocks on the door softly. A few minutes later Peter does answer. Obviously he isn't happy being woken up after needing to get some sleep. But since Eli is here, looking quite distressed he can't obviously ignore it.

"What do you want?" he asks.

Eli folds his arms over his chest. "I want you to make me forget."

"Forget what?"

"The pain," Eli replies. "I want you to make me forget the pain."

Peter stretches and yawns. He doesn't want to do this. He doesn't even know if he'll be able to do this. But he has to try for Eli's sake. Finally Peter nods and allows Eli to step in. "I'll see what I can do."


	29. Chapter 29: The Future

Chapter Twenty-nine

The Future

Something is different about Eli the next morning. All of his friends notice it right away. He seems happier, a little less tired of life. Of course they wonder why he's like this. It's literally a sudden transformation. He smiles more, tries to make jokes, and sees the good things in life. It doesn't make any sense to the others so of course Richard is more or less obligated to ask.

"You seem happy," he says.

Eli smiles and nods, gutting another fish in the process.

"The others are wondering about you," Richard says. "They want to know what happened."

"Do they?" Eli says. "Then tell them to go visit Peter. He can make them feel better."

Richard turns to him. "You mean-"

Eli simply nods. "I went to him and asked him to make me forget the pain, and you know what? He did it. That boy is a miracle worker. I haven't felt this good since my parents were alive."

"So you still remember Seablite?"

Again he nods. "I wouldn't be able to forget any of that. But know it just doesn't seem as bad, you know?"

Richard, partially satisfied with this answer, lets the topic drop. He'll tell the others after work. He doesn't know what he thinks about Eli's solution to all his problems. It seems like a good solution. As long as Eli doesn't concentrate on the pain that Seablite left him with, the hypnotism will remain in place for as long as he lives. Maybe Eli will even be able to sleep better at night. That almost makes Richard want to ask Peter to take away his pain, almost. He doesn't know why but he doesn't want to ask Peter to take away his pain. Maybe it's because it gives him a motive to go through with this plan. It gives him that extra push he needs to go through with it all.

After work he tells the others why Eli is different. They don't say much about it. They only sneak glances at Peter as he stands apart from them, watching Richard silently. After he is done telling them, Richard wanders off down to the bottom level of the home where the gym is. He needs to escape for a while.

He's not alone down in the gym. Ace is there too, going at it on one of the punching bags. He watches his friend for a moment, seeing how easy it is for Ace's fists to meet their mark. Suddenly he falters and breaks away from the punching bag, leaving it to swing back and forth. Ace begins to cough and doubles over. Richard knows what this means and helps his friend to sit down.

"You shouldn't be pushing yourself," Richard says and looks around for something that Ace can drink.

"Don't lecture me," Ace says as the coughing fit subsides. "I'm fine."

Richard decides to humor him. "Sure you are."

Ace only rolls his eyes and coughs again. "So, Eli asked Peter to make him forget."

Richard nods and gives up his search. Ace is starting to look better anyway. "He did," Richard responds. "He doesn't regret it at all. I think the others might actually do what he did."

"You thinking about it?"

Richard shrugs. "Don't know if it's for me. You?"

Ace sighs. "I don't know. Maybe. We'll see what happens, what I feel like later." He sighs again and leans his head against the wall. He closes his eyes and says, "I'm tired."

"You look it."

Ace shakes his head. "Tired of life, Richard."

Richard blinks at first, letting the words sink in. "Oh. You know you can talk to me whenever you want, right?"

Ace nods. "It's just so hard sometimes to keep living like this."

"Like a freak?" he offers.

"You don't know how hard it was to live with a family who doesn't know what I am or what happened to me, to us in that hellhole."

"I know what you mean," he says quietly. "My sister doesn't know."

"My family knows I'm different though," Ace admits. "It's just the subtle things that they noticed. The nightmares, the puking. I've lied to them. My own family who I should be telling everything to. They don't know, Richard. I can't tell them. I just can't."

"I don't think any of us did," Richard says softly and settles himself against the wall beside his friend. "Peter lived with an abusive uncle and he could've hypnotized him to stop but he didn't. You know why?"

"No, why?"

"Because I think he was too afraid to use it. We're all too afraid to use our Gifts. It's best just to keep it all inside."

"And now we have to grow used to them so we can use them against the people we will rob from." Ace rubs his eyes.

"Are you alright with that?"

Ace nods. "I should be fine. It'll just take a while." He opens his eyes and looks over at Richard. "Is this what you want your life to be?"

"Did I want to gut fish for the rest of my life? No, I didn't. Did I expect to make a plan to rob from the 'wealth? No, I didn't expect that either."

"Do you want to be an outlaw for the rest of your life?" he asks.

Richard doesn't respond right away. He doesn't know what to say at first. It's a hard question to answer. "For now it's a good solution," Richard says. "It'll work for a few years. It'll at least make us all feel better about how they used us."

"And what about after those few years? Do you have an end goal in mind?"

Richard groans. "Why do you have to ask these types of questions? Do you have any idea how hard they are to answer?"

"I want to know the answers, Richard. I want to know what I can expect in life. I want a plan."

"Well what do you expect me to say?" Richard asks. "I don't even know what I want in life. Being who we are, you can expect that life will be tough and that there is nothing we can do about it."

"You just made me feel so much better," Ace responds, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Fine then," Richard says. "How about this: after we've had our fill of stealing from the 'wealth and when we have enough money, we stake our claim."

"And end up as farmers?" he asks. "I don't know. We're all city boys."

"Ace, we survived Seablite," Richard says. "I think we can handle a farm."

Ace sighs. He chews on one of his lip rings before saying, "I guess that'll have to do."

Richard stands and pulls Ace up with him. "Let's get some dinner then. We've got a busy day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Ace asks as they walk towards the stairs."

"We are going sub hunting tomorrow. It's about time we start working on it."

After dinner the plans are told to the others. Tomorrow they will set out to the Trade Station, the largest Trade Station out on the ocean. It won't take long. Trips like these are made weekly since Karen and many other people living in the home have to conduct business at the Trade Station. Richard is hoping that they will be able to find what they are looking for. If they don't, they will just have to keep coming back whenever they can until they find what they need. Without this, the plan may not work and all of this planning will be for nothing.


	30. Chapter 30: New Home

Chapter Thirty

New Home

The weekend finally arrives. The boys waste no time in getting ready to leave for the day. They've bundled their money together and realized that they have a couple hundred dollars saved up. Hopefully that will be enough. If not, they will have to wait until after the next payday to go out again.

Richard wanders around in the home, making sure all of his friends are ready to go for the day. Last one to check on is Ace. He steps up to Ace's room and knocks on the door frame since the door is already open.

"We leave in five minutes," he says.

Ace is sitting on his bed, tying up his shoe laces. "One minute." He stands and walks over to the dresser. From there he grabs a small bottled filled with pills. Ace takes one out and swallows it with a bit of water. He looks over at Richard and answers the unasked question. "Anti-depression meds."

"Oh," is all that Richard says. "How long?"

"Since Seablite. I never really got better once we got out." He pushes the cap back on top of the bottle and turns to the door, offering a smile they both know is fake. "Let's get going. Gotta busy day ahead of us."

They leave the room and head upstairs to the boat that is waiting for them. They settle themselves on the last remaining seats before the boat turns out to open water. It picks up speed and begins to cut through the water with ease. It's a cloudy day and darker clouds loom in the west. At least it won't be hot and bright out on the Trade Station. Nothing is worse than a hot and sunny day.

Two hours later they arrive at the Trade Station. All of the boys take one look at the Trade Station and realize that they are way in over their heads. The crowd is huge. People rub shoulders against one another and the voices of hundreds of people fill the air. A crowd. Just what they don't want to deal with. Already the boys are making sure that their scars are covered up. Peter has a scarf tied around his neck so it hides most of the scar. Not all of it, but still it makes him feel a little more comfortable.

They step out onto the dock and look out into the crowd. There's a lot of people out there, meaning there will be lots of stuff being sold as well.

"Break up into groups," Richard says. "We'll meet back here in two hours and talk about what we've found, is that clear?" They all nod and break into groups. Kyle, Henry and Trevor in one, Eli and Peter in the second, and Ace with Richard in the third. They walk off in separate directions, letting the crowds swallow them up.

"You think we'll find one?" Ace asks as they dodge the people around them.

"I hope so," Richard says. "If we can only find them."

That indeed does pose a problem for them. Richard can only see fish being sold today. He's seen enough gutted fish to last at least ten life times. He tries to ask people where he can find a place where they sell used subs, but most people seem too busy and rudely brush past Richard without a care in the world. It isn't until they come across a young teen, a little younger than Trevor, that they get their heading.

"Hey, kid," Ace says. "I'm wondering if you could help us."

The teen turns around and looks up at Ace. Judging from the dive skin and mantaboard, the kid was probably about to leave the Trade Station. He looks at both Ace and Richard quickly, green eyes calculating to see if their worth helping out.

"What do you need?"

"Do you know if they sell used subs around here?"

The kid thinks this over for a bit before responding. He raises a gloved hand. "Over there's your best bet," he says. "If you're looking for some higher quality subs, you might want to check the sales over there." He points in the opposite direction.

"Thanks, kid," Ace says.

"No problem." The teen pulls on his helmet and jumps down into the water before disappearing under the waves on the mantaboard.

"Strange kid," Ace says.

"Pioneer's kid," Richard corrects. "They live under the water."

"Right. Well, we've got some subs to check out."

They walk off in the direction the boy directed them too. The first spot is a huge letdown. The subs are basically rust buckets that will fall apart if a minnow bumped it. They are also too small. They can probably hold two or four people at the most. Not what they need. They move onto the next part.

The next place with used subs for sale holds better promises. The subs here are in a somewhat better condition that the ones they saw before. So far this spot seems hopeful. They look around for a bit, inspecting the subs to see if there is a potential buy. These subs are larger, holding up to six and even eight people along with enough supplies to not have to surface for days even weeks at a time.

"We should get back and meet the others," Ace suggests. "We can look at these subs later when we're all together."

Richard nods. "Good idea."

Together they walk back to the meeting spot and wait. Fifteen minutes later everyone is assembled for. They begin to share their discoveries over the past two hours. There are two good spots for used subs. They head off to the first one, eagerly hoping that they can find what they need and move on with their plans. They are all eager to get away from the home and finally move on with their lives.

The first place is promising. The subs are large enough to hold them all along with enough space to hold their gear. They inspect all the promising subs from top to bottom, checking to see if the subs are in fixable condition. Fixable to them means that they are able to fix it themselves without any outsider help. They don't want anyone to get involved.

After inspecting all the hopefuls, they all realize that they have the same thoughts. None of them feel anything towards the subs. They just don't feel right. They decide to move onto the next spot.

The next place is much like the same. The subs are large enough to suit their needs and they have a better vibe than the last bunch of subs. They come upon one of the last ones and look at it. Despite the rust, the sub looks to be in good condition. The inside of the sub could use some general cleaning but it has what they are looking for, bunk space up top and gear space down below. Trevor is already seeing if they can convert it into a stealth sub.

"What do you think, Trevor?" Richard asks. "Do you think it'll work?"

Trevor steps into the back of the sub where the engine rests. He glances around the room quickly. And measure things using his arm span. He then looks at the engine carefully and into detail, making sure that engine is working properly.

"It should," the boy says. "What we can do is tear down the back siding and extend it to make the tail. We can use rebar to create the structure and place the metal sheeting over the structure."

"What about the vibration method?"

"Shouldn't be a problem. This sub is already built for stealth we just need to improve it. Once I get the prototype up and running, I'll figure out how it can work. Which by the way, I've thought of an extra system that can give us some extra speed."

"Which is?" Richard asks.

Trevor goes into detail about how the extra system will be a sort of backup system if the artificial muscles break down. Inside the gills of the shark will be a type of fan that forces air out to push itself faster through the water. This extra propulsion system will give them an extra boost if they are being chased.

"It's all doable," Trevor says. "It's just a matter of tearing things apart and rebuilding them."

"You're sure you can do this?" Richard asks.

"It'll take time, but we've got all the stuff we need. The engine is in good shape, the framework is sturdy. We just need the tools and supplies to make it what we want."

Richard nods. It seems like they finally have a winner.

Back on the dock, the boys discuss the sub into detail. It has everything they need, everything they hoped for. Now all they have to do is to buy it. Since Richard is the oldest, they send him to the owner. The owner is happy to see a potential buyer for his sub. Richard asks for the price. The owner provides him with one that is outrageously too high. Knowing what to do, Richard barters with the man, offering him a price that is outrageously low. And so the price goes back and forth between the two men. Finally they settle on a price that Richard can afford and the owner is satisfied with.

"Can you deliver this?" Richard asks as he pulls out the wad of money and prepares to hand it to the man.

"Where do you want it?"

"There's a smaller Trade Station 'bout two hours west of here. You know Karen?"

"The one that owns that fishery?" the man asks. Richard nods. "Everyone knows Karen. She makes herself known to the world. You live there?"

"Yes."

The man nods. "I'll drop it off tomorrow morning. It'll cost you extra though."

"I'll pay you the rest once you bring the sub."

The man smiles. "Deal." They shake on it and Richard hands him the money.

He turns back to his friends and nods. The deal has been struck. They are now the proud owners of a used sub. It may not be a big deal, but to them this is the beginning of a new life.


	31. Chapter 31: Cold

**I don't want to write one of these things, but this chapter does take a turn for the worse near the end. Sorry for the spoiler but I think it's good to have you guys prepared since it's not really a happy subject. Which is why I switched the rating of this story to 'T' because I decided it's a little mature for young innocent minds. So yeah, don't say I didn't warn you.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Thirty-one<p>

Cold

The sub arrives the next day as promised. Eagerly, the sub is placed inside the shop. Rex said he wouldn't mind since they have plenty of open shop space for the boys to work on their sub. And work on it they do. The plans are already laid out on tables. Trevor explains to them all what he thinks they should do to it. The others offer insight and their own ideas to the design, making the sub truly theirs. So eager they are to start working, the tools are soon pulled out once the designs are finalized.

First step is demolition. The back panel of the sub along with the rear propellers are removed. The sides near the front of the sub are also removed. The bolts and washers are placed in containers so that they are not lost in the process. Once demolition is complete, they discuss how they will shape and form the sub. They don't have the rebar or any of the supplies they need, but they have to figure out how they are going to build it. Finding supplies can take place on the weekend. For now they have to worry about how they will attach the tail of the sub. Plus there is the matter of Trevor's artificial muscles.

Trevor is set up in a separate part of the shop so he can focus solely on his project. With a few scrap pieces of metal, some simple electronics, and a few nearly dead batteries, Trevor has just enough to create the first prototype of the muscles. It will take some time along with some failed test trials, but once Trevor has his mind set on something, he will work on it until it is perfected.

Without any supplies to work on the tail end of the sub, the boys spend their free time sleeping and relaxing for the next work day. On the weekends they will go out and scour the surrounding places for the gear they need. It is going to be a very long time until their sub is ready, but that gives Trevor plenty of time to perfect the artificial muscles.

After work every day Trevor disappears into the shop to work on his prototype. He returns for dinner only to go back out until he is too tired to carry on.

Finally the weekend arrives. Another journey is made out to the Trade Station. Of course the people at the home wonder what the boys are doing with the rebar and various tools and other pieces of metal. But they don't ask any questions. Everyone has their own secrets and no one wants to pry into other people's lives. Only a world of trouble can come out of getting too involved with other people's lives.

So the weeks start to go by slowly. The sub begins to take shape. The tail extends from the back. A dorsal fin rises up on the top of the sub near the hatch. Fins extend from the sides, and the snout forms in the front. Their new home is taking shape. Little by little it begins to resemble the great white shark they envisioned it to be.

One day Trevor finishes his prototype and invites everyone to check it out. In a small channel of water Trevor places the prototype. He connects some wires to the end of the prototype to a battery, making the connection. The prototype begins to wiggle its way through the channel, meeting the end of it quickly and with ease.

The others congratulate him for his success. It worked better than any of them could imagine. Trevor says it'll be easy to build the real thing but they need a lot of supplies to make it possible. Richard says they'll go out on the weekend and look some more.

A few more weeks pass. Richard's twentieth birthday passes with a very colourful birthday card from Gemma.

_Dear Richard,_

_Happy birthday! I hope you have a fantastic day out on the ocean without me. I miss you lots. Maybe you can come back to the city and we can have some quality time together. What do you say? My treat._

_I hope you are doing well out there. It's been so long since we've last seen each other. I miss you more every day. _

_Happy birthday once more. I hope you have a great day._

_Love Gemma_

He sets down the letter after reading it for the hundredth time. He misses her so much. It has been almost two years since they've last seen each other. She's fourteen now, a young lady. He wants to be there for her and watch her grow up. She's the last family he has. He doesn't want to abandon her to the world, but then again he has to. He wants her to grow up straight, unlike him. He wants her to have a good future, unlike him. More importantly, he wants her to have a better life, unlike him. He writes a quick letter, saying thanks for the wish and slips in the next set of money, sealing the envelope.

At work, Ace and Richard talk about the next step in their plans.

"We all have to have new identities," Ace says. "We can't go gallivanting around the ocean like us."

"I think Peter's already got that figured out," Richard says and glances over at his friend quickly. Of course as soon as Peter left his uncle, he began to grow out his hair once more. It already reaches his shoulders, providing a nice cover for his scar.

"Names too," Ace says. "It'll be easier that way."

"What types of names?" Richard asks.

"Something simple," he muses. "Something we can all remember."

"Something close to our original names so that way we know who we're talking to," Richard adds.

"And you need to shave your hair," Ace finishes.

Richard sighs. "Again? We've been through this before."

"We have and your hair needs to go." He guts another fish before continuing. "Think about it this way, you'll be able to camouflage better."

Richard groans in approval. "Fine. You can have it your way."

"Have you thought about how you're going to, you know, do it?" Ace asks.

Richard nods. "A little. We'll talk about it after work."

Once they have their chance to talk about it, they slip away from the others and disappear into the shop where the half-finished sub lies under a tarp. The artificial muscles are in place. Now they are working on the fan system in the gills. So far everything seems to be working. In a few weeks they will be ready to leave.

"So," Ace says and jumps up onto a bench, "what's your great idea for pulling this off?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while," Richard says. "To make sure we're all safe, you guys will have darkened dive helmets. That way they won't be able to see who you are."

"And you?"

Richard smiles. "This is where it gets fun. I'll be posing as an albino."

Ace frowns. "Albino?"

Richard nods and holds up one of his arms, making it turn completely white. "They'll see an albino when we're robbing them, but whenever we're not, I'll be looking like this." The white turns into a series of black lines almost like snakes. They cover his entire arm. "They'll be looking for an albino while I'm sitting up top free and easy since no one will recognize me."

Ace's frown turns into a grin. "Nice. Sounds like a foolproof plan. Have you thought of a name?"

"A little bit," Richard replies. "Haven't found one that suits me yet. You?"

Ace shakes his head. "It's harder than you think. Have you heard from the others?"

Richard nods. "Trevor wants his name to be Trilo?"

"What?"

"Trilo," he says again. "Short for Trilobite."

"Oh, okay. Sounds good. Any others?"

He nods again. "Henry's going to be Hatchet, and that's it so far. The others are still thinking."

Ace nods and jumps off the bench. He paces back and forth while looking at the tarp covering the sub. "We need a name for the sub," he says. "Every ship needs a good name. And to top it all off, we need a name for us."

"You mean like a gang name?" Richard asks.

Ace nods. Before he speaks again, he quickly looks around the shop to see if anyone is nearby. No one is. "I've been thinking we should call ourselves the Seablite Gang."

Richard tests out the name, seeing how it sounds. "It's got a nice ring to it."

"I thought so," Ace says. "Do you think it'll do?"

Richard shrugs. "We'll take it up with the others after dinner tonight, see what they think. I think it's pretty good. Have you thought of a name for the sub?"

"A few," Ace admits. "None of them are any good, though. Although one did stick with me."

"And what's that?"

"Specter."

Richard lets the name sink in. "What does it mean?"

"Ghost," Ace replies. "Something that vanishes within a blink of the eye. I think it suits the sub just fine considering it'll be a stealth sub."

Richard nods. "It sounds good. We'll tell the others tonight and see what they think."

Ace nods. "Sounds like a plan then. Let's get something to eat. I'm starving."

Richard nods and follows his friend out of the shop and back to the home. Their discussion was pretty productive. The names are almost done. All they have to do now is think up some names for themselves and finish making the sub.

* * *

><p>After dinner the boys retire to the shop and begin to work on the sub once more. They work on the propeller system until it works correctly and to the way they want it. With the way things are progressing, Richard hopes to be ready to leave in two weeks. There are just a few loose ends to tie up before they do. One of the loose ends is called Elsa.<p>

"Why do you need my help?" Peter asks and receives a not too gentle push down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"Because you're the only one who can do this," Richard says. "I don't want you to do this, but Elsa knows too much."

"You want me to make her forget," Peter concludes.

"Just the stuff about the Dark Gifts and the fact that we have one."

Peter sighs and steps into the kitchen. Immediately Elsa is at his side, eager to have a helper. With no chance of escape, Peter is ushered further into the kitchen.

"Turn around," she says. Without allowing him to get a word out, she turns him around and quickly pulls back all of his hair and slaps a hair net over his hair to keep it out of the food. If Elsa is anything, she is fearless.

"There," she says. "Now, you can chop up this celery while I go get the clams."

This is not how things are supposed to go. Peter was supposed to hypnotize her quickly and quietly. And now he's here with his hair tied back, a knife in his hand, and a celery stalk on a cutting board, waiting to be chopped up.

She returns with several cans of clams. She fishes around in one of the drawers and produces a can opener. "When you're done, you can start with the carrot, if you don't mind."

Peter doesn't feel like he has a choice in the matter. No one can say no to Elsa. He looks at Richard, who is still standing in the hallway. He points to Elsa, giving Richard a look of 'help me'. Richard only gives him a thumbs-up and walks away. With no choice but to stay here and help Elsa, Peter begins to cut the stalk of celery.

"You boys have been busy lately," Elsa says as she pulls out a frying pan and sets it down on the stovetop. "Every spare moment you guys seem to have are spent in the shop. What are you guys up to out there?"

Peter continues to cut up the celery and moves onto the carrot. Elsa can also be described as curious, nosy, and annoying. Looks like he has a lot of work ahead of him.

"Not much," he answers. "Just helping Rex out with repairs."

"He keeps you guys busy then," she says.

"Busy enough," he says. He pauses in cutting the carrot and looks to Elsa nervously. Her movements begin to slow and vacant expression begins to cross her face. Peter continues to hypnotize her, using his Gift. When she's in the most susceptible state, he moves closer to her and begins to speak. He talks of forgetting what Dark Gifts are and the fact that Richard and the others have them. He also says that she will also think that the boys are to become prospectors and the things they do in the shop are so they can fix their own subs if they ever need to. He makes her repeat these things to him before bringing her out of the trance.

The vacant expression leaves Elsa's face. She smiles brightly again and returns to preparing the next meal. She begins to talk Peter's ear off once more. Peter rolls his eyes and says nothing, seeing as he can never get a word in when Elsa goes off on one of her rants. That's one thing he should've suggested to her. He should've told her that Richard_ loves_ to help her out in the kitchen.

* * *

><p>The countdown begins to when they will depart. The sub is completely built. The systems are in place and after a test run, they are completely happy with how silent the sub cuts through the water. The eight births up top on the sub are given those final touches to make the place seem a little more like a home. The padded benches down below are cleaned thoroughly. No one wants to know what sat on those benches previously. Some things are better left unknown. Other simple touches are added to the lower level of the sub such as a punching bag and a dart board. They will add other things to the walls to make it more like a home than a cold piece of metal. For now they are all happy with the way things are progressing.<p>

Other than the finishing touches to give the sub personality proper dive gear and supplies are added to their rightful places. Food is stuffed away in the galley along with fresh water. It took them many weeks to gather all of the dive gear. Most of the food they have is specially prepared for people who go down in the ocean for longer periods of time, meaning their food does not spoil easily.

With everything packed away, all they have to do now is think up of a name for the sub as well as a few more names for themselves. Kyle comes up with his own name which is very close to his real name, Kale, a slang term for money. Eli becomes Eel after realizing that there's a specie of electric eel out in the world. He feels that his Dark Gift of electromagnetic pulse gives him a connection with the electric eel. Peter becomes Pretty. Of course the others ask him 'why Pretty'? He replies that ever since he started growing his hair out, Eli has been calling him pretty boy. Pretty just decided to stick. Ace and Richard still haven't decided on final names. Both don't know what to call themselves. It's hard to think of a name that suits them.

On one of the last nights at the home, Richard and Ace stay up late, talking of the final preparations for they hope to leave in three days.

"The sub is ready," Ace says and stretches out on one of the couches. "All of the gear is in place along with all of the supplies. Everyone has their name expect us and the sub still needs a name, but other than that, everything is ready."

"Have you thought of name yet?" Richard asks.

Ace shakes his head and yawns. "Not yet. Maybe tomorrow but I've got nothing. You?"

Richard shakes his head too. "Not yet. Nothing fits me, you know?"

"I know," Ace says. "By the way, you still have to cut your hair."

"And you still have to stop reminding me," Richard says. "I'll get it done."

"You better."

Silence descends in the room. Both are tired and stressed out from the past few months of preparation. Hopefully all the cuts, bruises, lost sleep and tense shoulders will be worth it.

"Just a few more days," Ace says. "A few more days and we'll be out in the ocean."

Richard nods while yawning. "It'll feel good to be out of here."

Ace agrees with his friend and yawns. "I think I'm going to go to bed now. Work tomorrow."

"Right," Richard says and pushes himself to sit up. That took a lot effort than he thought it would. Finally he is on his feet; swaying a little since he is quite tired. "Goodnight."

"Yeah," Ace says from where he still lies on the couch. "Goodnight." After a moment he adds, "Sweet dreams." They both have a bitter laugh about that since neither has had a 'sweet dream' in quite some time.

Richard finally goes down to his room and collapses on the bed. The one thing he will miss of the home is his room. He's enjoyed the space he has been allowed to have for nearly two years. On the sub he'll be back to living in cramped quarters with six other friends. But would he have it any other way? To be honest, no. He wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

><p>Next morning the boys are in much better spirits than they have been in, well, years. They eat their breakfast together and begin to make their way to the sub for work. One person, however, is missing. Ace.<p>

"Maybe he slept in," Henry says. "He didn't look so good yesterday."

Richard nods and heads back for the home. "I'll get him." He runs down the stairs and heads to Ace's room. He knocks on the door loud enough to wake the dead. No response. He knocks again and receives no response.

"Ace," he calls out, "time to get going. The sub will be leaving soon." Still no response.

Fed up, Richard opens the door. The room is dark. "Ace, get up already," he says and flicks on the light. Ace is still in bed, sleeping perhaps. Richard sighs and goes up to his friend, shaking him roughly. "Ace, enough fooling around. We've got work to do." Ace still does not wake up. Frowning, Richard touches Ace's hand real quickly only to gasp as he feels how cold it is, like ice.

"Ace?" Richard calls out softly this time. His friend shouldn't be like this. He's too still. Something is wrong. Then he notices that Ace is not breathing and there's an empty pill bottle on the dresser.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh that was so depressing. The reason why is so you can see that final push that turns Richard into Shade. So yeah... hopefully I didn't ruin your happy, little bubble.<strong>


	32. Chapter 32: Numb

Chapter Thirty-two

Numb

They postponed their departure from the home. First because they had no idea what to do after Ace's death and second because they wanted to pay their last respects to their friend. So they postponed it until everyone feels like they will be ready to leave for good. Everyone is worried about Richard. He became quiet after that morning. He is also quite isolated and cold.

It's the day of Ace's funeral. The boys travelled to the mainland since that's where Ace's family lives and the facilities with dealing a deceased person are located. Richard can't believe what is happening around him. Is this another sick, twisted dream? He wants to wake up, he wants it to end. He just wants his life to go back to normal. But now he's here, sitting on an uncomfortable chair in a tiny room packed with a dozen other people who knew Ace at some point in his life.

Richard taps his foot against the ground. He doesn't want to be here any longer than he already has to be. It reminds him too much of his own parents' funeral. The sympathetic people who do not truly understand the pain of losing one so close, the fake smiles and assurances, the unknown future. Ah! He can't take this anymore. He wants to leave; he wants to go back to the ocean, back to the sub. Any place but here.

Peter glances over at his friend and sees his distress. None of them want to be here, and yet they are. They feel indebted to Ace. He did help them escape Seablite. Peter brushes his hair over his scar.

Richard leans forward as the speaker up front continues to talk about Ace, what a man he became over the years despite all the things he has been through. The other people in the room don't even know the half of it.

Finally it ends. The people get up from their chairs and begin to walk around the small room. Often they go up to comfort the grieving family, or they just leave all together, seeing as the funeral is over. The boys wait for their chance to go up after most of the people leave. They plan to stay for a moment and then leave quickly. None of them want to stay longer than they have to.

The crowd begins to thin. Peter nudges Richard, who looks up from the floor. Peter nods in the direction of Ace's family. Richard sighs and gets to his feet. The others follow behind him. They reach the front finally. There are two women sitting on the chairs along with a man and a boy, Ace's brothers and sisters.

One of the women looks up at Richard and offers a small smile. "You must be Richard and Ace's other friends," she says and reaches up to grip Richard's hand. He lets her. "You meant so much to him. He spoke of you often when he… returned."

Richard can't say anything. Luckily Eli speaks for him. "Ace was a good a friend," he says. "To us all."

Richard pulls his hand away, not quick enough to show disrespect to the woman but he had enough of her holding his hand.

"Thank you for taking care of him," the man says. He appears to be the oldest out of all of them. "Ace had a difficult time since our parents'… death."

Nothing is said after that. The boys have seen the family and now they want to leave.

"Thank you for coming," one of the women says. "It means a lot to us that you… care about him that much."

The boys mumble a few things under their breath, trying to be as polite as possible. They shake their hands and move on. Richard is the last to linger. He takes his time, not saying anything and walks off to get back with his friends.

"Richard, wait."

He turns around. The man is standing up. He has a letter in his hands. "The box you gave us," he says. "There was a letter addressed to you." The man hands Richard the letter. "Thank you for taking care of him."

Richard can only nod and take the letter. He turns away and walks out of the room; back out into the sunny day.

The boys are worried about Richard. He hasn't said a word to any of them. Usually he stays in his room writing a letter to his sister, or he is found down in the gym. He distracts himself. They know it. He knows it. It's just hard to deal with everything. Richard tries to forget it.

Sitting in his room once more, he pries open the sealed envelope and takes out the pieces of paper inside. There are two letters, much to his surprise. One is addressed to him and the other is addressed to the others. He looks down at the letter addressed to him and begins to read.

_Dear Richard,_

_I know you have a million questions to ask. I wish I could answer them all for you, but let's stick with the basics. You'll be asking why, what's going to happen next, and probably is it your fault. The last question will be answered now because I don't want you to suffer. It's not your fault. Don't ever think that for one moment. This was my choice, Richard. Not yours, not Peter's, not Eli's. Mine and mine alone._

_I guess this is the part where I answer the why. Why did I decide to do this? The answer is so simple. I'm not happy, Richard. I never was. Ever since my parents died, I was never happy. I tried to act like it for your sake and for the sake of the others. I didn't want to bother you with my problems. You had enough of your own. I wanted this, Richard. There was nothing you could do to help me. I was too far gone already. Peter offered to help with the pain as he did with the others. I didn't accept the offer. I couldn't. The pain would always be there. It's the thought that counts. I wouldn't be able to escape it._

_So you see there was nothing you could've done to help me. I didn't want any help. I couldn't deal with anything anymore. Too much has happened to me that I just couldn't take it anymore. I tried, though. I really did. I visited doctors and they all said the same thing. I had to go see other doctors of all different kinds. I didn't go, though. I couldn't do it. I couldn't go to the doctors. They would all say I was brain baked and would send me away for what they would call treatment. I went once to help with the depression. It still didn't help very much._

_What's going to happen now is what you probably want to ask next. The answer is right before you. You will take that sub that we worked on and you will go through with this plan. It's a brilliant plan and I know you will make it work. You played an important role in getting us out of Seablite, now go play another important role and in making your life better. The others need you. They depend on you to be their leader. Now go and be their leader. You and I both know that you are a much better leader than I am. _

_I know it'll take you a while to recover from this. I don't blame you. It will take a while for you to understand all of this and make all the final preparations on your own. I have no doubt in my mind that you will do a great job, though. Don't let me hold you back. Let me go and move on. I know you can do this without me. _

_Of course there is the matter of telling the others why I decided to do this. I already saved you the trouble. That is what the other letter is for. Just give it to them and hopefully they don't ask you what happened. I know that'll be a hard task for you to do. _

_I consider you to be my brother, Richard. You helped me when no one else could. You are the only one who can truly understand what's going on in my life. The letters definitely helped out. I could tell you things that I wouldn't be able to tell my family. If anything you gave me hope to get through another day. Thank you for that. Without you, I don't know where I would be today. Thank you so much. You don't know how thankful I am that you consider me a friend. _

_Sincerely, Ace_

_P.S._

_I know you're having some troubles with a name so I thought of some for you: Skin, Shade, Tats, Stitch. They may not sound very good, but it's something._

_P.P.S._

_Don't forget to cut your hair._

That's the end of the letter. No more writing is there for him. So that's it for Ace. He truly is gone. Nothing left remains of him. His room was cleaned out and all personal belongings were given back to his family. Ace is gone.

Deciding that he has had enough of his room, Richard leaves and goes down to the gym. He walks over to the punching bags. He wraps up his hands with cloth to protect his skin. After that he sets to work on the punching bag, showing the inanimate object no mercy.

A long while later, Peter comes down to check up on Richard. His friend is still going at it on the punching bag. The strokes are hard and quick in succession, beating down an enemy neither can see but both know is there.

"Richard," Peter says, "dinner time."

Richard doesn't stop and keeps going at it. Peter sighs and walks towards him and leans against the wall, waiting for Richard to notice him. Eventually he does and breaks away from the punching bag, panting and covered in sweat. He pulls the wrappings off his hands, revealing bloody knuckles. He swears and leans against the wall, catching his breath.

"Done?" Peter asks. Richard nods. "Dinner's on the table."

"You told me already," Richard says.

"I know I did," Peter responds. "I'm making sure you go up and eat something."

"I'm fine." Richard steps away from the wall and heads over to one of the bars mounted on the wall. He jumps up to it and begins a set of chin ups.

"You'll hurt yourself if you keep going at a pace like that," Peter says. "The others worry about you. They don't know what to do."

Since Richard is currently occupied, he doesn't reply. Only till his arms feel like they are about to drop off does he stop. "What do you want me to tell them?" he asks. "Do you want me to tell them that I'm not the leader they were expecting, that I'm not as strong as I said I was?"

Peter shakes his head. "You're stronger than all of us combined. You got us through Seablite. You got us through everything after and now here we are. You brought us together and made us feel like we were human beings that mattered to someone. You did this. You can't give up."

Richard looks over at Peter. The blonde hair reaches past his shoulders and still he isn't affected by the length. "What point is there to even go through with this plan?" he asks. "It was a stupid idea in the first place."

"No, it's not," Peter says. "It gave us hope, to dream of something better than gutting fish for the rest of our lives."

"And still where will this get us?" Richard asks. "Five years in the future, ten years. I don't know what to look forward to. I've got nothing left."

Peter is silent for a moment then says, "You've got us. You're not the only one upset about Ace's death. They all took it hard, not just you. They don't know what to do now, Richard. They're waiting for you to do something."

"To do what?" he asks. "What can I do?"

Peter shrugs. "I don't have all the answers. Just do what you always do."

"And what's that?"

"Give them hope." Peter turns and leaves the gym, heading back up the stairs.

Richard stays down in the gym for a while, thinking about what Peter said to him. The words ring true in his head. The others depend on him, to lead them. He brought them this far, surely he can bring them a little further.

He eats a little at dinner, showing that he's at least trying. The others look to him, seeing if the old Richard is still there, the Richard they can depend on. It's all one step at a time from here.

He goes out to the shop and goes to the sub. It's still hidden under its tarp. Tools are lying around along haphazardly. The boys have been up to something. He goes into the sub and sees what they have done. They've removed the two extra bed compartments they had. In their place are lockers to hold their own gear and belongings. They were raised Topside, which meant every single space had to be used. Nothing could be wasted. Now that leaves six bunks instead of eight. Enough for all of them.

The world is moving too fast, greatly to the dislike of Richard. Can't the world stand still for one day? He needs to figure out what's going on first. He needs time to adjust and yet people move on so quickly it leaves him baffled. What's he supposed to do now? Without Ace, he's lost. He's never been like this before. Before he used to be independent, strong, fearless. He stole space, didn't he? How much more fearless can one get?

He still can't get through the why, why Ace had to do it. Was he truly so miserable that Richard didn't even notice it? Was Richard so blind because of the sub that he didn't notice his friend suffering? He shakes his head. He's already disrespecting Ace's request by not blaming himself for Ace's death. It's so hard not to, though.

He continues to sit inside the sub for a while, trying to get all of his thoughts in order. He notices that Peter is climbing down into the sub as well, but he makes no motion to welcome his friend or show that he notices his presence. Peter sits across from him. "Done sulking yet?" he asks.

"I'm mourning," Richard says. "Not sulking. There's a difference."

"I read the letter," he says.

"What letter?"

"The letter Ace gave us," Peter says. Richard looks over at him and frowns. "Yes, I snooped through your room. I wanted to know why you were acting more depressed than usual."

"So you read the letter?" Richard asks.

Peter nods. "Just the one that was addressed to us. I gave it to the others so they could read it as well. He didn't want you to blame yourself."

"I know," Richard says. "It's harder than you think." He sighs and rests his head in his hands. "Did you notice that Ace was… I don't know. Deteriorating, I guess?"

Peter nods slowly. "I knew. I tried to help, but he didn't accept it."

"I didn't see it," Richard says quietly. "I should've noticed."

"If he wanted help, he would've asked for it. He didn't want it." Peter pushes aside a lock of blonde hair that fell into his eyes. "I can help you."

Richard looks up. "How?"

"How I helped with the others," he says. "I can make the pain go away. You won't blame yourself anymore."

Richard heaves a sigh. It worked for the others when Peter did this. It'll probably work for him as well.

"Do you want me to?" Peter asks again.

Richard, hesitating a little bit, nods. Peter shifts his position so that he is closer to Richard. Slowly Richard allows himself to be put under the trance and forgets the pain.


	33. Chapter 33: Goodbye

Chapter Thirty-three

Goodbye

They reschedule the date to leave. Now that Richard is feeling a little bit better, the boys can relax. They've got their leader back. So preparations resume once more, making sure everything is right for the trip. They decide on a name for their sub, _Specter, _as Ace suggested. A way to honour their deceased friend and the fact that _Specter _is a good name for a stealth sub.

As the day to depart draws near, Richard decides it's time to say goodbye to his hair for the last time. The hair is so convenient though. It hides his scar perfectly. Then he remembers that his Gift will give him the same ability.

After dinner one day, Richard approaches Elsa. She looks up at him and smiles, tucking back a wavy piece of vivid green hair behind her ear.

"Need something?" she asks.

"I was wondering if you could cut my hair for me," he says.

She peels off the rubber gloves that she's using to wash the dishes. She leaves the room and beckons Richard to follow her. He does.

When they enter her room, Richard is not very surprised. He's known Elsa for almost two years. The fact that her room is very bright and full of colour does not shock him one bit. Since she's been here longer than he has, she's added a few pieces of furniture, such as a vanity mirror and a chair to go with it. He also isn't surprised to see the massive amounts of makeup sitting on the vanity table.

Elsa sets Richard down into the chair. She digs around her room and pulls out a large towel. She drapes it over his shoulders and clips the two ends together behind him. "What type of style do you want?" she says and rummages around on the table to find a comb.

"Can you shave it all off?" he asks.

She drops the comb. "All of it?" she asks, sounding a little surprised. "You mean you want to go bald?"

"Not all of us need hair, Elsa," he responds. "Can you do it?"

She purses her lips and then nods. "Just one minute. I need to get something." She dashes out of the room. A few minutes later she returns with a hair clipper. She smiles and turns it on. "So you're absolutely sure about this?" she asks. With a final nod from Richard, she brings the clipper to Richard's head.

As the clumps of reddish brown hair fall to the ground, Richard makes sure that the scar disappears, becoming skin colour. He doesn't want Elsa to ask about it. That might undo Peter's hypnotism on the girl.

"So you guys are leaving soon?" she asks as she carefully glides the clipper over Richard's head, dislodging more clumps of hair.

"Yeah," he says. "Soon."

"What are you boys going to do out in the big ocean? Gut more fish?"

He rolls his eyes and she laughs. "Please, we've had enough of gutting fish. We're probably going to become prospectors and hunt around for black pearls."

She nods. "So you're willing to go down under the waves for weeks even months at a time?"

He nods. "Nothing better. You never know, though. I probably won't do this forever."

"Planning on becoming a farmer and stake your claim?" She cuts off more hair causing Richard to close his eyes otherwise he'll get hair in them.

"Maybe. I haven't fully decided yet."

A few minutes later Richard's hair is all on the floor, on the towel, or on him. He runs a hand over his head, feeling the fine grains of hair still on his head.

"I can shave that off," Elsa offers. "It won't take too long."

"That'd be great," Richard says.

Once more Elsa leaves the room. She returns with a can of shaving cream and a razor. She applies the cream to Richard's head first. He shivers at the cold contact of the cream. She takes the razor and begins to gently swipe it along his head, cutting off the remaining hairs. Elsa works quietly and diligently. Eventually his head is completely void of hair.

"You may want to wash off the cream," Elsa says as she pulls away the towel.

Richard touches his head and pulls it away, making a face as he feels the slick cream. "That'd be a good idea. Thanks for doing this."

Elsa smiles at him brightly and begins to clean up the mess. "No problem." She straightens and looks at him in the eye. "I'm really going to miss you boys."

Richard doesn't respond at first. He doesn't know what to say. Sure he's going to miss Elsa. She brightens his life as everyone else's in the home. Plus she makes really good food, and he's going to miss that food a lot. None of the boys know how to make food properly. Maybe Peter since he's made food with Elsa before, but other than that they won't have a proper chef on board the _Specter_.

"I'm sure we'll all miss you after a few days," he says. "None of us know how to cook."

She smiles. "That's no problem. I can give you boys some simple recipes to help you out. Nothing too hard and yet simply delicious. They're good for long trips under the sea."

"Is this your way of saying goodbye?" he asks.

She shrugs. "Perhaps. I'm just going to miss you when you leave. I miss everyone when they leave the home, but you guys are close to my age, and it's hard to find such interesting people on this Trade Station."

"Why not leave the Trade Station then?" he suggest. "Go out into the world."

She laughs nervously and shakes her head. "The world is not meant to behold the beauty such as myself." She bats her eyes and laughs. "Maybe when I'm older and a little more independent. For now I'll stay here and continue to cook and clean. If I leave, this place will fall into ruin."

"You really think yourself so highly in this place?" he asks.

She smiles brightly and nods. "Yes, I do. Now if you would please excuse yourself from my room, Mr. Straid, I have a mess to clean up and you have to wash your head off. Now, shoo." She pushes him out of the room to clean up the mess. Richard leaves the room and off to a bathroom to wash off his head. Yes, he truly is going to miss Elsa.

There is only one thing Richard has to do yet. It's probably going to be one of the most painful things he has to do. He has to let go of Gemma. He can't continue this long distance relationship with her. There comes a time when a man has to let go of his past to live his future. Gemma is part of the past. Richard has a new family to take care of now. He did all that he could for Gemma. She's old enough to take care of herself now. He no longer has to worry about her. It's time to say goodbye.

Pulling out a clean piece of paper, Richard begins to write his final letter.

_Dear Gem o' the ocean,_

_It's been a long time, hasn't it? A lot of things have happened recently. I feel better than I used to before I came here. The ocean has definitely helped. I've decided to stay out here permanently. I know you wished for me to come back to the cities, but the cities aren't for me. I've made my choice and I'm happy with it. I'm staying in the ocean._

_I've thought about it and realized there is more to the ocean than just farming and gutting fish. I've signed on to become a prospector. I'll be hunting for manganese nodules. I'll be in the ocean for weeks at a time, possibly months. A prospector's job is a long one. I'll only come up to the surface if I need more supplies, more gear. Other than that, I'll be living on the sea floor. That means our letters will have to stop. I won't be able to get them where I'm going. A prospector's life is a lonely one, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I know you don't want this to be true, but it is. One day perhaps we'll meet up again. You'll know it's me right away when I show you our sign._

_I still love you. I always will. You'll always be my little sister, but there comes a time when family has to part and pursue their own paths, their own dreams. We're still family, we always will be. I'll miss you and you'll miss me. That probably won't change. But I want you to know that I'm not leaving you. I'll always be with you in a manner of speaking. You just have to let the physical me go and keep the memories of me instead. _

_Goodbye, Gemma. Stay strong. I love you._

_Richard_

He folds up the letter and slides it into an envelope. It's done. His old life is officially over. It's time to become a new person. Richard Straid is no longer. Only a soon-to-be outlaw remains, an outlaw carrying the name Shade.


	34. Epilogue: Shade

Epilogue

Shade

Room keys are on the front desk. Rooms are empty and beds are sort of made. There's an empty spot in the shop now. Tools have been put away, leaving the empty space neat and tidy once more. It will have looked like no one even had a sub there. The sub that was there is long gone. The people who own it left early in the morning to avoid questions.

Shade looks out the front of the _Specter _from the bridge, looking down at the scanners that are supposed to pick up the whereabouts of nearby ships. One particularly large, green, flashing dot catches his attention. Beside him the young teen Trilo nods. It's what they've been waiting for. A government supply ship, their first target.

Shade steps away from the bridge and goes off to order the others to start preparing. The other outlaws in the sub are quick to respond, quickly finding their dive gear and slipping into it. Their darkened helmets hold the liquigen they will need to storm the ship. Eel tugs on his dive gloves, excited to use his Dark Gift for once against the people who used him for years. Hatchet and Kale pull on their darkened helmets, stretching and shaking out their limbs. The adrenaline is already pumping. They can feel it. Trilo yells their position and the time they have to get ready before the _Specter _reaches its target. That is Shade's signal to pull on his own dive gear and get into character. Unlike the other gang members, Shade's dive helmet is clear. It's all part of the act to make sure these people know who they're dealing with and who to watch out for.

He waits until Trilo shouts for the signal to dive. Only Trilo and Pretty will remain behind to watch the _Specter. _Before tugging on his dive gloves, Shade watches his skin turn white. He makes himself to appear as an albino so the Seaguard will hunt for an albino, not a man who has black tattoos swirling all over his body, which is the way Shade will appear when in public.

He looks to Pretty, who nods. The transformation is complete. With a final shout from Trilo, Shade pulls on his helmet and inhales a lung full of liquigen. He drops through the hatch of the _Specter _and heads out into open water. He looks over to the sub that is floating just a short distance away from the _Specter. _The sub is drifting, meaning that Eel already went to work with his Gift, cutting power to the sub so they can sneak aboard and ransack it.

It's funny how Shade's life progressed to where it is now. He was an inmate of the Seablite Prison. Now he's the outlaw leader of the Seablite Gang. Such an interesting turn of events. Now it's time to make his name known. It's time for his debut as an outlaw. It's time to let Shade have some fun.


End file.
